Blade of Illusion
by SpiralAK
Summary: A rewrite and continuation of Masters of Genjutsu. Naruto Uzumaki is supposedly incapable of using Genjutsu. However, once Naruto puts his mind on doing something, he'll never stop until he does it. And Naruto won't stop until he becomes a master of Genjutsu.
1. The Meeting

**Author's Note**: This story will be different from Masters of Genjutsu. Certain events will occur differently, for example, but necessary plot events will remain unchanged. Updates will be less frequent than in my other story, "To Be Free".

* * *

Chapter 1: The Meeting

Naruto Uzumaki and his teammates, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha, were standing on the bridge that Team Seven used as their meeting place. Their Jōnin-sensei, Kakashi Hatake, had just left them after they had finished their teamwork exercises. Seeing an opportunity to get closer to her teammate, Sakura approached Sasuke.

"Hey Sasuke, would you like to go on a date with me?"

"No," Sasuke replied coldly before walking off. Naruto's eyes narrowed when he heard this, not understanding why Sasuke would turn down the "beautiful Sakura's" invitation for a date. Nevertheless, he approached Sakura, a wide fox-like grin plastered on his face.

"Sakura, would you –" Naruto began only to find himself looking up at Sakura from his position on the ground.

"You idiot! Would you shut up for once?" she exclaimed as she retracted her fist, which had been used to force Naruto onto the ground – having an added effect of removing Naruto's grin. "I will _never_ go on a date with you, so quit bothering me!" With that being said, Sakura turned around and walked away from Naruto.

Naruto got up and dusted himself off. He looked up to the sky, crestfallen. _Maybe I shouldn't bother her, maybe then she'll be friendlier to me_, he considered, but then he reconsidered. _If I beat Sasuke and show Sakura that I'm better than him, then she'll see how awesome I am and she'll _have _to go on a date with me!_ Excited by this train of thought, he raised a fist to the air.

Naruto sighed, his previous bout of depression returning as he looked at the ground, his previously-raised arm dropping. He couldn't recall feeling like this since Mizuki revealed his status as a Jinchūriki.

_How can I beat Sasuke when all Kakashi-sensei does is do teamwork exerices with us!_ _I don't want to annoy him as he said that he would teach us when he felt we were ready, but it's been a month and we haven't learned a thing!_ Naruto found that Kakashi was adamant about doing teamwork exercises, telling him that he wouldn't teach him or his teammates any new techniques until their teamwork was up to his standard.

_Guess I'll just have to train by myself, just like always,_ he thought bitterly. Naruto could ignore many of the bad things that happened to him, but he was tired of being alone. He was always alone, always had been. His first memory was of him walking from the Hokage's office to the Orphanage, being glared at as he walked by. Even with his team, he felt alone, though less so as his teammates did interact with him. He knew that it was only because they had to. He began to walk into the forest, heading to a clearing he had used for training since the formation of his team.

Kakashi, who had been watching his students since he left, disappeared using the Body Flicker, disappointed at his team's lack of teamwork.

* * *

Naruto was standing in front of the Memorial Stone and imagined, like he did many times before, what his parents might be like. He hoped they had been awesome shinobi who saved princes and princesses and were treated like heroes.

He imagined his father standing tall and handsome, standing in a ferocious pose while holding a special kunai in each of his hands, ready to enter the battlefield. His mother stood beside him, her mouth spread into a fox-like grin much like his own, her signature katana out and ready to drink the blood from her enemies' wounds.

While he was thinking about this, he smiled proudly, though it was a bittersweet smile as well, since he didn't know who his parents were.

Shaking himself out of his daydream, he ran off to a clearing not too far from the Memorial Stone. He made sure nobody was nearby, since the last time he trained, his training was disrupted by trespassers. The clearing he was using was secluded and would give him privacy when practicing.

In a field of green (or nearly anywhere else), Naruto's orange clothing was easy to spot, but he loved the color orange and he knew that a real ninja could wear anything and be able to hide in plain sight, which was why he stuck to wearing the colour. He looked around and, feeling satisfied he hadn't been followed, he formed the handseal to his favourite jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Three clones formed in response. Two sat down where they stood, the last clone followed Naruto. Naruto stopped a fair distance away from the other clones and faced off against the clone that followed him, preparing himself for battle. Naruto and his clone lunged at each other, beginning the spar.

When Naruto would make contact with his clone, he would tap his clone lightly. He had learned early on that a single strong hit would dispel his clone, so he consciously lowered the force behind his hits to prevent that from happening. The first clone continued fighting him for nearly half an hour before it was dispelled. When it did, his other clones did not give him a chance to rest as one of them jumped in and continued the fight he had begun with the other clone.

Continuing in this manner until he had beaten his three clones and fought for over an hour (each clone lasting for a shorter amount of time than the last as Naruto became less conscious of the power he was putting into his attacks), Naruto collapsed on his back, his breathing was slightly labored due to the strenuous exercise.

"Damn it!" he yelled. A few birds leapt from the trees as they heard his scream but many just flicked their feathers and looked down at him as if they were trying to understand why he was making such a noise.

Naruto inhaled and exhaled deeply while his muscles relaxed, "This is pathetic! I can't train anything other than Taijutsu and I don't feel like improving at all!" he yelled out. The birds that remained in the trees squawked at him. "I wish the librarians would let me into the library so I could learn and practice new jutsu," he muttered. _But then again, I _am _a shinobi. __I'll just sneak in and get some jutsu scrolls. _

Since he didn't have any other workouts he could do, Naruto stood up and began to walk to waterfall that he used to clean himself. The cool thing about the waterfall was that it was always warm; he had followed the river that led into the waterfall back to its source, the natural hot springs that gushed from the mountains around Hidden Leaf. So, it was better for him to clean here than take a freezing cold shower in his own apartment. The water heater never seemed to be working and Naruto never understood why that was the case.

The best part of it though, that unlike the public training grounds, the waterfall was private. Naruto was sure that nobody knew about the waterfall's location except for him, since he never saw anyone at the waterfall.

He had camped out there for two weeks during summer vacation one time, which was an enjoyable experience. He did return to the village every few days for supplies but other than that, he basically lived out in the forest. He didn't know (at the time) that his new training clearing was close to the waterfall, having not searched for it. Since he was still wary of someone following him, he used the skills he learned from his pranking days (escape and stealth) to make sure he wasn't followed.

He was at the edge of the forest next to the waterfall, but as he stepped forward when a woman appeared in front of him on the banks of the small lake the waterfall emptied into. Naruto froze for a bit, but he was able to regain his focus, slowly putting his foot back down and crouching behind a tree. He was able to hide his visible presence and watch the woman simultaneously.

Normally, he would let his instincts take control of him when faced with a new situation but his sense of self-preservation (that was refined due to his pranking habits) stopped him from doing so. He felt a sense of danger when looking at the woman. He had always relied on his senses (which manifested as a voice), since it protected him from being harmed.

Looking at the woman, Naruto knew that she was very beautiful. Despite the fact that her back was facing him, Naruto could tell that this woman exuded a confidence and grace that was rare among women. Her black hair was both messy and properly maintained, almost as if she willed it to follow her demands.

He followed the hair down to the small of her back, underneath it he could see white bandages with a pattern of what appeared to be rose thorns, but as he couldn't see any blood stains, he came to the conclusion that the woman was using those bandages as clothing, his assumption was proven correct as he saw that the bandages wrapped around her whole body.

Naruto's eyes continued to trail down the woman's body, finding that the bandages ended just under her posterior. While Naruto was barely perverted, despite creating the Sexy Jutsu, he was surprised when he started getting aroused when he saw how well the bandages covered her shapely backside and the way it jiggled when she would move.

His eyes continued their downward journey to see some of the most toned legs he had ever laid witness to. He could see that she was someone who trained extensively to maintain those legs. He could see her muscles ripple as she shifted from foot to foot. Her calves were sculpted just as perfectly as her thighs.

His eyes snapped up when he saw the woman shift her upper body to look around. He wasn't able to see any part of her face due to his positioning, so he had no idea who the woman could be. He did notice however, that her right arm was covered in a red sleeve and both her hands and forearms were wrapped in tape. He was about to leave, intent on coming back later, when he saw her relax. Curious about the woman's identity, he continued to spy on the woman.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the woman reach up and untie something where her forehead would be. They widened further when he saw she had untied a forehead protector from her head and dropped it to the floor. _She's a kunoichi! Damn it! Now I can't move without being caught. Who is she? She looks familiar._

Those thoughts (and others) were whirring in his head as he looked at the kunoichi. He knew immediately that she wasn't a Genin. That left her being a Chūnin or Jōnin and he couldn't help but shake the feeling this woman wasn't a Chūnin, but a Jōnin of the highest caliber. For some reason, when he thought of Jōnin, he saw the kunoichi's dress, as if he had seen her before. His thoughts were stopped as he saw unwind the bandages that were her dress.

He was entranced by the kunoichi, because as inch by tantalizing inch, her skin slowly became exposed to the outside world (and to him). His eyes darted around quickly as she laid the clothing on a nearby rock. His eyes then locked onto her posterior as he saw she had bandages covering her private area along with her chest. She reached down and pulled her mesh shirt off along with the sleeve, which left her back completely bare (besides her bindings) and Naruto saw her muscles expand and contract as she did so. The training the kunoichi did on her legs was extended to her upper body, Naruto noted.

Both Naruto's heartbeat and his arousal increased significantly. Naruto was confused at what was happening to his body, as he had never experienced something like this before. He looked down, tearing his eyes away from the woman in front of him for a moment to see his member bulging through his pants. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the woman, deciding he could figure what was happening later on.

When he did look back at the kunoichi, he saw her slowly remove her chest bindings. As this happened, his heart began beating even faster than before. After removing her bindings, the kunoichi placed them where the rest of her clothing lay and reached down. Naruto, guessing what was going to happen, tried his hardest to move but he failed to do so, hypnotized by the sight of the kunoichi's creamy skin. He watched as, wrap after wrap, the kunoichi's bindings were removed.

When she had finished, Naruto was presented with a scene many men would die for: her naked ass was in full view as she bent over to pick up her forehead protector. His body was going into overdrive as his better than normal eyesight seemed to hone in on something he had only seen when looking at the results of his Sexy Jutsu.

He saw a small, pink slit. It had no hair around it and her luscious thighs framed it perfectly. His nose felt like it was about to gush out a large stream of blood as his level of arousal went even higher. Naruto was knocked out when he saw the kunoichi's breasts from between her legs, hanging from her chest. He also noticed how she had these nubs on the tip of her breasts. He felt his member twitch against his pants painfully as he took in this sight before he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head, falling into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

When Naruto came to, his body was still in the position he was in when he was knocked out. His arousal gone, Naruto stood up, only to witness that same kunoichi from before underneath his waterfall, completely naked! He didn't move, but he did feel his previous state of arousal return with a vengeance.

He looked down and frowned at his erect penis. _What the hell is going on_? He didn't even know why he had fallen unconscious or why his nose was bleeding, he only saw that happen when the Old Man read that orange book or when a pervert was hit with the Sexy Jutsu. His eyes widened as he took that in. _I am _not_ a pervert_! He raised his fist into the air as if to show his enthusiasm about not being a pervert.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he did this just when the kunoichi turned around and heard his movement. Naruto caught a glimpse of pink circles on the kunoichi's chest just like his own and a trimmed black bush of hair down by her vagina before the kunoichi covered herself. The moment after Naruto blinked, he saw the kunoichi next to her clothes.

"Come out," she ordered coldly. Naruto's body moved on its own again as he leaped out of the bushes and stood in front of the kunoichi, startling her.

Naruto stared at her before he felt the kunoichi's killing intent. He noticed how her hands were covering her extremities before he saw her face. She had a rather dainty looking jawline but he was sure that, as a kunoichi, she used her looks to her advantage. Her lips were luscious, covered in red lipstick. He also saw her ruby red eyes, which were directed at him with a glare. Her eyes had two rings of black within them, one so small it almost seemed like a pupil but Naruto's eyes picked out the speck of red in between them.

The two continued their staring contest for nearly a minute."What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked, breaking the silence.

_What an amazing voice_. "I don't have anything _to _say. You were the one who intruded in _my_ waterfall and I couldn't help looking at a woman as beautiful as you, even if you were undressing," Naruto said bluntly.

The kunoichi was about to reprimand Naruto, but not only did he raise a valid point, he complimented her. She blushed slightly, in spite of herself.

Naruto, having a moment to realize the severity of his words, immediately begged for mercy. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to peek on you. But I just always clean here... and I didn't want to walk back home and…" he babbled on. "I'm really sorry!" he finished.

The kunoichi looked at him, chuckling at his admission. His response to her question removed any anger she felt towards him as she now knew he was not just a pervert trying to watch her, just a confused boy who, while blunt, was willing to take his punishment as he hadn't tried to run.

Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized exactly who he was. "I'm not angry at you, Mr. Uzumaki," she said formally. Naruto looked at her fearfully. She was surprised to see his eyes locked on hers when she went to move and didn't move to her body. "Please allow me to clothe myself."

Naruto's sense of fear subsided somewhat at the kunoichi's gentle words. He turned around; keeping his eyes locked on hers before he turned around proving to the woman he would not 'sneak a peek'. When he turned around, he heard her rustling with her clothes and pulling them on.

He took in the scent of the forest, which was a floral scent that he was almost certain emanated from the woman behind him. It smelled like a mixture of roses and lavender, which was something he was almost sure wouldn't mix but somehow managed to meld together almost perfectly, causing him to purr in delight.

He took in the scent some more before he heard the rustling noise stop. "Can I turn around now, Ms. Kunoichi?" he asked politely.

"Yes Mr. Uzumaki, but we need to talk." Naruto turned around to see the kunoichi staring at him, which caused him to shiver. Regardless, Naruto walked over to a softer part of the ground and sat on the ground.

"Alright, but who are you? How did you find this place? I thought I was the only one who knew about this place," he began. His fear of the woman had him asking questions rapidly. Though he knew she didn't mean him any harm, he shuddered as he thought of what women did to perverts, Sakura being the prime example.

The woman moved closer to him, sitting down so that they were facing each other. She looked him straight in the eyes, "I guess it isn't surprising you don't remember me, but you have met me before." she said.

Naruto's eyes squinted before he pointed a seemingly accusatory finger at her. "You're Hinata, Kiba and Shino's sensei!" he exclaimed.

The kunoichi smiled slightly. _Looks like I made an impression. Good._ "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kurenai Yūhi. I know about this place because I stumbled across it a few days ago and I took the opportunity to start showering here, since I have problems with my own shower," she added darkly.

Although Naruto did not know it, she was the suspect of many men catch a glimpse of her naked figure. Unfortunately, many of the men in Konoha seemed to be perverts, so it was hard to feel safe while in such a vulnerable position as bathing.

Naruto nodded in agreement, "I know what you mean. My shower is always cold!" he exclaimed. "This place is perfect for taking a shower though."

Kurenai chuckled slightly. "That it is," she said pleasantly. "Though that brings me to what you were trying to do," she added, all mirth erased from her voice. Naruto's gaze darkened, "What you did was wrong and –" she started only for Naruto to interrupt her.

"It was an accident, Ms. Yūhi. Besides, you are very beautiful but if I had the choice, I'd never do it again."

Kurenai looked at him with scrutiny. "Look at me, Mr. Uzumaki." Naruto made eye contact with her. "Do you admit you peeked on me?" she asked. Naruto nodded. "Do you know that it is a crime to peek on people while they are taking baths?" she asked.

Naruto nodded again, his previous bluntness returning. "No it isn't. Maybe it's a crime against public decency, but it's not an actual crime. And besides, wouldn't it be your fault if you got caught naked in public?" _I would know about what is and what isn't illegal, after all._

Kurenai sighed and ran a hand through her hair. _It's not a crime? Well, it should be._ "Good point. Since you weren't trying to peek at me deliberately…" she glared at him, which caused him to smile sheepishly. "And you accepted responsibility for your actions, I will not tell anyone about this." she finished, which caused Naruto to sigh in relief.

Honestly, she wouldn't have told a soul. She would never admit it to him but the fact he was able to stay hidden and stay hidden for as long as he did was quite the impressive feat. Aside from that, the fact he had seen her naked was not something she wanted common knowledge.

"Thank you, Ms. Yūhi," Naruto replied. He looked incredibly grateful for something so minor, which caused Kurenai to take in a sharp breath.

"It was nothing, in fact it was my fault for not noticing you in the first place," she said. "You shouldn't blame yourself for this, Naruto."

Naruto looked down, tears forming in his eyes for Kurenai's show of kindness. "Why are you being so nice to me? You know who I am and what I contain. Nearly everyone hates me and the ones who don't are just as bad, since they don't want to be friends with me at all," he said morosely.

His words broke Kurenai's heart. Kurenai tried her best to comfort him, smiling warmly at him, "I don't see what the villagers see. All I see is a kind, innocent boy in need of a friend. I want to be your friend, Naruto. Do you want to be mine?"

Naruto smiled brightly at her, "Yes!" He blushed in embarrassment for his outburst. Kurenai couldn't help herself and giggled. She was startled to hear herself giggle, as she hadn't done so in years. She shook it off as Naruto's smile seemed to disappear, but his lips twitched and slowly spread as they curved upwards. Naruto's smile seemed to be reborn as it slowly spread across his face.

Kurenai's lips twitched upwards as she saw his first true smile. _His happiness is infectious, to say the least. _"Then it looks like we are friends, Naruto."

"Thank you, Ms. Kurenai," he replied.

"Just one more thing," she said suddenly. Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"If I take a shower here, please do not peek at me, okay?" Naruto nodded his head emphatically. "Good. Since it's getting so late, I have to get home. Maybe we can meet again sometime. Does that sound good?" Naruto nodded and smiled at her. As she got up and turned to leave, Naruto spoke up.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" he asked. Kurenai turned back, a bit surprised at his offer.

"You don't have to, Naruto," she said. _Why would he want to, anyway?_

"It's no problem for me, Ms. Kurenai. Besides, a gentleman should always walk a lady home, right?"

Once again, Kurenai's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. _If he realized exactly what he was doing, he'd definitely be a lady-killer._

"Especially since we just became friends," he added. She smiled lightly at his gesture, as any idea of an ulterior motive was swept from her mind with his blatant honesty.

"I would enjoy your company, Naruto," she said politely. He got up and fell into step with her, leaving the clearing behind them.

* * *

Naruto and Kurenai approached the edge of the training grounds as darkness settled across the Hidden Village. They had been walking in comfortable silence from the clearing and they were nearing Kurenai's apartment. "Ms. Kurenai, you're a Jōnin, right?" he asked her.

"Yes Naruto, I am," she replied.

"Do you think..." he stopped, feeling bad for asking his friend for something so soon.

"If you have something to say, don't be afraid to say it, Naruto," she said gently.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Do you think you could teach me a few things?"

Kurenai's stride faltered, but she managed to recover quickly. "Your sensei is Kakashi, right?" Naruto nodded. "He's a more experienced shinobi than I am, so he can teach you anything I could and more."

Naruto diverted his gaze. "You're right. Sorry for troubling you." A strained smile appeared on his face.

Kurenai was about to comfort Naruto, but didn't when she saw they were at her apartment. "Here we are."

Naruto looked at the apartment and smiled, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Kurenai." He stopped for a second, looking for the right words. "And... thanks." He turned around and ran back towards his apartment. Kurenai stood there, looking back at him for a bit before she sighed and entered her apartment complex.

Naruto was elated, his happiness giving him more energy. He wondered how he had managed to make friends with her so easily but he brushed off the thoughts, excited that he had another person he could call his friend.

As he passed the main square, he slowed down. Even so, his smile could not be beat as he continued walking. He looked around at the slums of Konoha where his apartment was located. Supposedly, he was supposed to get an apartment in the market district, but he didn't believe that for a second.

Because he had forgotten to take a shower, he stripped down and jumped into his cold shower, ignoring the freezing water all the while. After he finished, he dried himself off with a towel, changed into his sleeping clothing and headed to his bed. As he lay in his bed, with his froggy headcap and pajamas, he began to think back and smiled as he came across his first new friend since his school days.

During his time at the Academy, Iruka had been one of the few to help him and he saved his life from that bastard Mizuki, making him one of his friends. He had his team but they weren't really his friends, even if he was willing to be friends with the both of them.

Finally, he thought about the Hokage, the person he treated like a grandfather, which caused him to frown. He had trusted him explicitly, but to no avail. The villagers still looked at him with hatred. Some of them tried to bar him from shopping in their stores. Fortunately, the Hokage didn't tolerate any of the villagers openly beating him. Now that he knew why, it caused him to look at his village and the Hokage's actions in a new light.

The Hokage lied to him. He might have said it was for his protection, but knowing about the Nine-Tailed Fox beforehand would have helped him considerably. This caused his trust in the Hokage to take a hit, since if he lied about something so big, what else might he be hiding from him? Maybe he knew who his parents really were, or if he belonged to a clan – since he was the only one that used Uzumaki as his last name.

Naruto was still willing to give the Hokage a chance, even if he didn't trust him as much as he did before. He felt he could trust Kurenai however, even though he only met her that day. She was kind, gentle and considerate towards him, even though she knew that he was a jinchūriki. He felt good when he was around her, which was a rare feeling for him. With a smile on his face, he fell asleep.

* * *

**Author's Note**: For the sake of this story, Kurenai is three years younger than she would be in canon, making her 24-25. Also, if you've read the original version of this story, I won't be focusing on Samui as much, since Naruto's relationship with Samui is essentially an easy out for him and for the drama of the story.


	2. New Digs

Chapter 2: New Digs

Naruto woke up to the blaring of his alarm clock. He blocked his eyes from the harsh glaring of the sun's rays as they peeked through the curtains on his windows. He eventually got his hand to the alarm clock and turned it off. He appreciated the silence and got out of bed, placing his bare feet on the cold floor.

He took off his headcap, placing it on the bed and walked to the bathroom. He went in front of the mirror and blearily looked at his reflection, waking himself up by splashing cold water on his face. He grabbed his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth. Once was finished, he dried himself off and he walked into his bedroom.

He put on his signature tracksuit, putting on his pants first, before putting on his shirt and jacket soon after. While he could get other clothes, this tracksuit in particular was practical and was orange, his favourite colour. Not only that, it was both an attention-grabber and it was good when he wanted to stay hidden after finishing a prank, since unlike black or white, orange allowed you to blend in with the crowd.

Naruto pulled a loose floorboard up and reached into it, wanting to know his current amount of savings. He considered using the money to buy weapons, but that was unnecessary since he didn't get an opportunity to use them at all, since all he did was do teamwork exercises or D-Rank missions. D-Ranks paid little, however, so he was grateful that he had some savings.

He took out his frog-shaped wallet that he used as a safe. It was filled to bursting with bills with the money he saved. "Only 160,000 ryō. It should be enough for now. Hopefully we get a higher paying mission soon, or else I may be forced to use these savings."

He placed his wallet inside his jacket and went to the kitchen, taking out a carton of fresh milk and a can of red bean soup. After drinking that carton of rotten milk last month, he made sure that he would never, ever buy or drink expired milk ever again.

Shuddering at the thought, he drank the milk and poured the soup into a bowl, downing it quickly. Red bean soup was a decent breakfast meal and one of his favourite foods, other than ramen. It was easy to prepare and cheap too. In case he didn't have ramen in supply, red bean soup was a good replacement.

* * *

Naruto, stomach full and in high spirits, ran outside his apartment complex. While he was running to his team's meeting place, he thought about his new friend, Kurenai. _When can I see her again? Every time I think about her… I feel better about myself. If one person like her can be my friend, then maybe I can make more friends just like her._

He even ignored the glares he got from the villagers, too occupied with his happy thoughts to spare them a glance. He knew that they hated him because he had the Nine-Tailed Fox stuck inside of him, but if he thought about it, all he could do was show them that he was Naruto Uzumaki, Hokage in the making, not the village's dirty secret or punching bag.

With this thought in mind, he continued his run, his strides increasing in pace and his smile growing larger, genuine this time instead of forced like all the times before.

* * *

When Naruto made it to the bridge, he saw his teammates were already there, but Kakashi was nowhere to be found. "Morning, Sakura, Sasuke," he said, trying not to shout.

"Morning, Naruto. Glad to see that you're not being a loud idiot," Sakura replied. Sasuke nodded in response. Naruto's mood faltered at Sakura's off-hand insult, but shook off his growing feelings of despair, sitting down and beginning to play the waiting game.

He thought of something to do while he waited. Finding a leaf, he tried to make it stick to his forehead. _The damn Fox must be the main reason why I have large chakra reserves, so I should try to become better at controlling my chakra. _

While Naruto was busy with his chakra exercise, Sakura and Sasuke simply sat there. Sakura passed the time by staring at Sasuke while Sasuke was occupied with his own thoughts. Sakura stopped staring at Sasuke long enough to notice what Naruto was doing.

"What are you doing?" she asked her teammate.

Naruto's concentration was broken and his leaf fell from his forehead as he looked at Sakura. "What does it look like? It's a chakra control exercise," he replied. Then he grabbed the leaf and started the exercise from scratch.

Sakura's eye twitched. "I know what it is; I just want to know _why_ you're doing it."

"To increase my control over my chakra," he said matter-of-factly. Sakura scoffed and turned away from him, returning to watching Sasuke.

Naruto concentrated on his chakra and was currently successful in keeping the leaf on his forehead. For close to an hour, Naruto managed to keep the technique going. But he grew impatient and began to think of ways to increase the difficulty of the exercise. He realized, however, if he let his mind wander, the exercise became harder. The easiest alternate exercise he could think of was to 'push' the leaf back and forth to different locations on his body, only using his chakra.

He channeled chakra directly below the leaf and slowly tried to turn off the chakra that was holding the leaf to him, so the leaf would float down and attach to the new place he had chakra channeling. Unfortunately, once he 'let go' of the leaf, it flew off and landed across the bridge. He grabbed another leaf and stared at it, trying to figure out how to complete the exercise.

_I've got it!_ If he could provide the push with excess chakra, timing it just right so the leaf would be pushed in the direction he wanted, then he could attach it to other places on his body. He got the leaf in position and channeled chakra to a spot just below the area and tried to increase the chakra running to the leaf but not to the other area. The leaf just fell off his forehead and floated to the ground. He clenched his teeth in frustration.

He grabbed the leaf and tried the exercise once again. Each time he failed he grew increasingly frustrated with the technique. He finally reached a point where his frustration clashed with his control, to the point when he put the leaf on his head, it didn't attach at all.

_What is he trying to do_? _He can't even do the leaf exercise? Pathetic!_ Sakura, who got the hang of the leaf exercise on the first try, was dumbfounded by Naruto's incapability to complete such an easy exercise.

Sasuke kept himself busy by meditating, closing his eyes to block out everything. He only opened his eyes once some time after Naruto came to the bridge. He wasn't surprised to see Sakura staring at him – it was fortunate that she liked him because of his skill and not because he was an Uchiha.

He turned to the only person he considered decent on his team. Naruto wasn't as dumb as he let on. Naruto was unpredictable and he frequently caught him by surprise, both in and out of combat. That unpredictability was quite dangerous, so he never truly underestimated him. _Even so, unless he can fully harness that trait of his, he'll never be a strong shinobi._

Sasuke noticed that Naruto was unable to complete what looked like a variant of the leaf exercise, and it was only because he couldn't release a consistent amount of chakra.

"Naruto. Use a consistent amount of chakra when you do the exercise," Sasuke muttered.

"What was that, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, too focused on his exercise to hear Sasuke.

_Idiot. _"I'm not going to repeat myself," he replied.

None of the Genin noticed Kakashi staring at them from a distance.

"Yo!" Kakashi said, appearing next to Naruto.

"You're late!" Sakura screeched. Kakashi cast a quick glance at Naruto, worried that something might be bothering him since he hadn't bothered to yell at him as usual, but when he saw him staring intently at a leaf, his worries evaporated.

"Well you see, there was this old lady that needed-" Kakashi began.

_What a _loser. "Save your excuses for someone who cares."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Well, since you want to be like that, I think we can skip a mission today and simply do teamwork exercises to make up for it. Meet me at the training grounds in five minutes." Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura looked torn between being happy that they didn't have to do a D-rank mission and angry that she had to do teamwork exercises. Naruto, seeing that Kakashi was gone, began to panic.

"What happened? Where'd Kakashi-sensei go?" he asked.

Sakura sighed. "Just follow us. You can do that, right?"

Naruto looked at her and smiled. "Sure!" He followed Sakura and Sasuke, who had already began to walk, to the training grounds.

* * *

Naruto walked slightly behind his teammates, taking note of how they were treated by the public. Sakura was greeted by a few people and she responded kindly. Sasuke was looked at with some form of adulation by a few of the villagers, but looked irritated when that happened. _I'd do anything for that sort of attention and he just blows it off!_

Naruto noticed some of the villagers glaring at him. He just ignored them, since they were wastes of time, in any case. It was a good thing too, since he didn't want to overreact around his teammates.

* * *

When Team Seven entered the Third Training Ground, they saw Kakashi perched on one of the training posts.

"Glad you could make it," Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are we going to do today?" Naruto asked.

"Didn't you hear me back at the bridge? We're doing teamwork exercises," he replied cheerfully.

It was an exercise, so even though he wouldn't learn any new jutsu, he focused his thoughts on completing the exercise to the best of his ability. _Maybe then I could actually be taught something._

Kakashi clapped his hands together and began to explain their teamwork exercise, "Alright, guys, get in a triangle." he said. Team Seven did so, forming a triangular formation.

Kakashi pulled something out of his pocket, flicking his hand forward throwing something at Naruto. "Catch."

Naruto's hand shot out and grasped the small white object flying through the air. Naruto looked at the object in his hand, an egg. "Um, why did you give me an egg Kakashi-sensei?"

"A new teamwork exercise," he replied.

"How does an egg help our teamwork?"

"Glad you asked. Naruto, you're going to take that egg and toss it to one of your teammates. Thing is, you must not break the egg when throwing it to your teammate. This requires you to know both your own and your teammates' limits. I will stop the exercise when you can throw the egg for one hour, without it breaking. If you can do that, we move on to the next level."

"What are the other levels, Sensei?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"We do this exercise with more dangerous objects," he said cheerfully. "Go ahead and start, daylight's burning." Kakashi took out his Icha Icha novel and began to read it.

Team Seven briefly looked at each other, before Naruto turned his body so that he was facing his teammates. He lobbed the egg to Sasuke, who caught it with his right hand. He clutched the egg, causing it to burst apart. Sasuke looked at what was left of the egg and glared downwards.

"You idiot! Throw the egg properly!" Sakura howled.

"If you want to blame anybody, blame Sasuke for trying to look cool when catching the egg," Naruto replied casually. Sakura huffed in indignation.

"Let's just try again," Sasuke muttered. _The sooner we're done with this dumb exercise, the sooner we can train._

Kakashi sighed and produced another egg, throwing it to Sasuke. "Don't mess up."

Sasuke, once he cradled the egg, threw it at Naruto. Naruto reached out and caught the egg. When he realized he caught the egg, he raised the hand he was keeping it in, crushing the egg by closing the hand.

_We'll never be finished at this rate_. "Naruto, you loser. As soon as you get the egg, don't jump for joy. Just throw it back to either Sakura or me."

"Don't call me a loser, asshole!" Naruto replied harshly.

"Naruto! Don't reprimand Sasuke! He's trying to give you some advice," Sakura screeched in defense of her crush.

"Fine. Let's just get the damn exercise over with," Naruto growled in frustration. Kakashi took out another egg and threw it at Sakura. Sakura threw the egg at Naruto with all her strength.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked.

"For being a joke," Sakura replied coldly. "Next time, throw the egg properly!"

"Like you did?" Naruto snorted. "I'm not going to tolerate you throwing the egg at me like that then blaming me for something I didn't do!"

"Guys." Kakashi stepped in to prevent Sakura from punching Naruto. "Sakura, you were wrong. Apologize." Sakura blurted out an apology. Naruto simply nodded in acceptance. _As long as it doesn't happen again, it'll be alright._

"Let's just try again. Naruto, here's an egg. _Don't_ try to take revenge on Sakura," Kakashi ordered. Naruto took the egg and was able to perform the exercise properly. Team Seven, in fact, threw the egg to the next person properly. While there were mishaps, Team Seven managed to stick to their guns and not argue with each other. Eventually, they were able to keep the egg from breaking for the whole hour.

"Finally, we're done!" Sakura cheered.

"It seems that when push comes to shove, you can do the exercise properly. Tomorrow, we'll see if you can finish the next level of the exercise. See you then." Kakashi waved, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto smiled brightly as when he finished the exercise. _Let's go see if I can get something good from the library._ He ran from the training ground quickly, leaving Sasuke and Sakura behind.

Sasuke was slightly surprised to see Naruto not ask Sakura on a date, but was shaken from his thoughts when he heard his irritating teammate's voice.

"Sasuke, would –" she started.

"No." Sakura looked down. She was slightly depressed that Sasuke would never accept her requests. She turned and opened her mouth to speak, as if on cue.

"No, Naru–" she said, stopping herself when he she saw she was alone. "…to." _Looks like the idiot finally got the hint!_

* * *

Naruto ran home to wash his hands so that he could head to the library without the stench of egg lingering around him. He got home and washed his hands quickly, scrubbing out the egg stains. Once he did so, he took off his jacket and replaced his black shirt with a white one that had an orange spiral on it. He placed his wallet in his pocket and wrapped his forehead protector around his neck. He left his apartment and raced to the library.

Just before he could get to the library, he bumped into a familiar person, which caused him to fall.

"Naruto?"

Naruto got up and dusted himself off. "Oh sorry, Ms. Kurenai!" Naruto put his hand behind his head and rubbed it. "I was in a rush to get to the library, so I didn't focus as much as I would have."

"Why would you want to go to the library?" Kurenai asked.

"Because! Kakashi-sensei isn't acting like a sensei! He only does teamwork exercises instead of teaching us stuff. I wanted to go to the library so that I could learn some new techniques. I don't want to fall behind."

"Is that so?" Kurenai smiled. "Well, Naruto. How about this? I'll get you a jutsu scroll, but you have to accompany me. Sound good?"

Naruto nodded, a bright smile on his face. "Thanks, Ms. Kurenai!" Naruto followed his new friend, but he walked slightly behind for a bit, so that he could make a Shadow Clone. He had the clone transform, ordering it to go to the library and remain inconspicuous. He returned to his place next to Kurenai.

* * *

"Where are we going, Ms. Kurenai?" Naruto asked. They had been going to a more affluent area of the Hidden Leaf Village, which made Naruto nervous. With his – to him – limited budget, he was unable to buy things from the shops here, if he wasn't kicked out for being the village 'demon'.

"I know this place that'd be perfect for you," Kurenai replied. "The shop owner is an old friend of mine."

"Are you sure he'd want me in his shop?" Naruto asked softly.

"He would," Kurenai answered seriously. "If he doesn't, then we'll just have to find another place to shop."

Naruto beamed. "Ok!"

Watching Naruto look so happy just for someone that gave him a hand in life… Kurenai leaked some killing intent in response, which unnerved Naruto.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Naruto." Kurenai clamped down on her killing intent, which caused Naruto to calm down. She stretched out her hand to him. "Let me show you a faster way to get to your destination."

Naruto took her hand. Immediately after he did, they disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Naruto, who was both shocked and overjoyed after experienced the Body Flicker found himself in front of a large shop, which for some reason was familiar to him. The name of the shop, "Dragon's Claw", was painted above the shop's windows in bright gold letters. On display were different weapons and armour of sorts. Naruto was hesitant in entering the shop, something Kurenai noticed.

"What are you waiting for, Naruto?" Kurenai asked.

"Are you _sure_ that the shop owner won't kick me out?"

Kurenai bent to a knee and looked at him, her eyes reflecting the warmth of her voice. "If he does, I will leave right alongside you. Ok?" She went inside, beckoning him to follow.

Naruto hesitated at first, but followed Kurenai inside, confident that his new friend would stand by him. Once he entered the shop, he was nearly overwhelmed at the huge amount of stock sitting on the shelves. The store was filled to the brim with a diverse range of weaponry, ranging from short swords to the naginata. Every weapon looked awesome, which would make choosing one difficult for Naruto.

He stopped his observation of the shop when a tall, muscular man left the storage room. His booming voice could be heard from across the shop. "Ah! Kurenai, what brings you here today? The amount of weapons I sold you the last time you were here should be enough to tide over your Genin team." He walked over to Kurenai and Naruto, smiling widely.

Kurenai returned the man's smile with one of hers, placing Naruto in front of her. "I just wanted to show my new friend your shop, since he has a shopping problem, if you could call it that."

Takeshi stared at Naruto intently, taking in his figure. Noticing Naruto's unique facial features, his stare became sharper. Naruto took a step back from Takeshi, but showed his spirit by returning Takeshi's stare with one of his own.

Naruto and Takeshi suddenly both broke out into grins, "Naruto Uzumaki, the Hidden Leaf Village's number one prankster! You actually managed to prank my store, young man!"

Naruto's usual confidence returned in spades. "I knew that the sign looked familar!"

Kurenai stared at Naruto and Takeshi in a combination of amusement and surprise. Takeshi placed his hand outwards to shake Naruto's hand, which he did. "Your prank was quite impressive, Naruto. Since you're here, it seems that you want something. How can I help you?"

Kurenai answered for Naruto, who was staring at Takeshi with surprise and joy. "I wanted to show Naruto a place where he could buy weapons and clothing at a good price."

Takeshi looked down at Naruto with surprise before his face broke into a grin, "In that case, you are always welcome to shop here, Naruto. Since it's the first time you've come here, I'll even throw in a discount. How does that sound?"

Kurenai was surprised, since Takeshi _never_ gave discounts to anyone. When she looked at Naruto, his smile was nearly face-splitting. "I'll direct you to our clothing section first," Takeshi said, smiling back at Naruto. "Do you know your clothing size?"

"I don't know, I never really looked," he replied. "If I wanted to buy a shirt, I would just take it, even if it was a bit big it didn't matter."

Kurenai looked at Naruto. "Take off your shirt."

"What?!" Naruto asked in surprise.

"I want to see your shirt size. Then I can get something good for you, alright?" Naruto nodded, taking off his shirt to reveal his chest. While he was slightly muscular, his torso wasn't as defined as it should be, which confused Kurenai.

"Naruto. What do you eat normally?"

"I eat ramen nearly all the time. The only time I don't is if I don't have it. If that happens, I eat red bean soup," Naruto replied. "They're both easy to prepare and cheap too."

Kurenai looked at Naruto blankly. "It seems that you're not getting the proper nutrition. While your body is not as bad as it could be, considering your diet, you need to eat other food besides ramen and red bean soup." Naruto frowned in response. Kurenai looked at Naruto's shirt, handing it back to him once she figured out Naruto's size. "Don't worry about that, Naruto. For now, let's get you some new clothes." Kurenai walked to the clothing section, but when Naruto didn't follow, she looked back, where he had something to say.

"What's wrong with my tracksuit?" Naruto asked. He looked straight at Kurenai, almost looking insulted.

_I never knew that he was so attached to that outfit._ "Don't you want some variety for your wardrobe? While your choice of clothing is… interesting, what would happen if they became dirty, or were destroyed in battle?"

Naruto's sour mood seemed to evaporate, a small smile placed on his face as he looked at Kurenai with understanding. "I get what you're saying. So what are we waiting for?"

"Stay here." Kurenai smiled. "I know just what to get you." Naruto watched Kurenai move quickly, taking out a set of clothes rather quickly. She returned with a set of burnt grey clothing, handing them to Naruto.

"Try this on. I think you'll like them quite a bit." Naruto smiled appreciatively and took off to the changing rooms. Once he got out, he was wearing the clothes Kurenai gave him: a dull grey shirt with an orange spiral in the center and dull grey pants with bright orange stripes along the sides. His forehead protector was still wrapped around his neck.

"So what do you think?" Kurenai smiled in approval while Takeshi thought Naruto's new look was missing something.

"It needs something to seal the deal," he mused. Takeshi went to take a bright orange sash from the bargain bin, handing it to Naruto. Naruto immediately tied the sash to his waist and was satisfied with his new look. So were Kurenai and Takeshi.

"Not bad, Naruto, not bad," Takeshi said.

"I see. The sash will act as a distraction for the enemy, won't it?" Kurenai asked. Takeshi nodded positively. _Just like my red sleeve._

Naruto went to the mirror to see how he looked, but noticed something that immediately caught his attention. It was a dull orange sweater with a collar that Naruto found was similar to the collar on Sasuke's shirt, although with the sweater, the collar didn't funnel out as much. It instead had six diagonally-placed strings, three on each side of the centre, with two strings hanging loosely from the collar's centre.

Naruto took the sweater and after observing how he currently looked – he looked good, if he could say so himself, he placed the sweater over his shirt, which combined well with his new pants.

"Are you sure you want that, Naruto?" Kurenai asked. Naruto gave her a thumbs-up in response. He went back to the changing rooms to change back to his previous clothing, then returned to Takeshi, who was standing next to the sales counter.

Takeshi began to speak. "Okay Naruto. The sweater costs 10 000 ryō, the shirt and pants are 8 000 ryō and the standard weapons set –"

Naruto interrupted Takeshi, since he was confused. "What weapons set?"

"This one," Kurenai answered, holding out a set of kunai, shuriken, explosive tags and ninja wire, placing them inside a weapons holster.

"The standard weapons set is 15 000 ryō, so you must pay 33 000 ryō in total. For an added fee of 7 000 ryō, I'll give you three copies of each set of clothing and have them delivered to your apartment."

Naruto was ecstatic to know he didn't have to pay so much money, pulling out his wallet and taking out 40 000 ryō, which caused Kurenai to look at Naruto's wallet as if it were alive, noticing the wallet was almost filled entirely. "You have that much money and you worry about food, or a lack of clothing?"

Naruto nodded. "If I don't get kicked out of a shop, there are _some_ people who think they can extort extra money from me." Kurenai leaked killing intent once again, which caused Naruto to shudder. When she noticed Naruto's look of fear, she let her killing intent dissipate.

"I apologize, Naruto," Kurenai said sweetly. "I'm just surprised at your situation."

"You shouldn't be, Ms. Kurenai. This shop is incredible! I'm definitely coming here again," Naruto beamed brightly, which caused Kurenai to smile warmly.

"I'll be glad to have you shop here, Naruto," Takeshi said, putting Naruto's items inside a bag, handing it to Naruto. "Let me get your details and I'll have your extra clothing delivered within three days."

Naruto did so. After he did, he looked outside the store, noticing that it was getting dark. "Thank you, Mr. Takeshi," he said. "Ms. Kurenai, please let me walk you home. It's the least I can do after what you did for me today."

Takeshi grinned and leaned down, whispering to Naruto. "I never knew you were such a gentleman, Naruto. You'd have to wait until you're older if you want to date Kurenai, though."

Naruto blushed in a virulent shade of crimson. "Date? Kurenai's only my friend." He walked outside the shop, where Kurenai was waiting for him.

"Naruto," Kurenai stopped Naruto in his tracks. She then smiled suggestively. "Didn't you say you wanted to take me somewhere? It's what a gentleman would do after all."

Naruto flushed, but he managed to gain control over his rampant emotions, walking with Kurenai to her apartment.

* * *

The walk to Kurenai's apartment was spent in companionable silence. When they were outside the complex, Naruto turned to Kurenai and smiled again. "Thank you for helping me shop, Ms. Kurenai."

Kurenai smiled. "It was my pleasure, Naruto."

Naruto blinked slowly, grasping the sides of his head. "What was that? I can remember exactly what my clone did earlier!" _I just wanted it to take some books or scrolls home, but now..._

"That's the special ability of the Shadow Clone jutsu, if that's what you used," Kurenai explained. "The user gains the memories of the dispelled clone. It's quite a useful ability."

Naruto beamed at Kurenai. "Thanks for explaining that to me, Ms. Kurenai. Bye!" Naruto ran off, leaving Kurenai with a glowing expression on his face.

_That boy is truly an unpredictable one. _Kurenai thought, smiling at Naruto's disappearing figure.

* * *

Naruto's smile couldn't be beat as dashed home with his new clothes in hand. While he was irritated that he couldn't find anything useful in the library to take home and read, he wasn't as worried about it as he might have been. _Now I have new clothes, new weapons and a new shop to go to, with a new friend that will help me. _Naruto placed his clothes in the closet, then changed into his sleepwear and plopped on the bed, falling asleep with a bright smile on his face.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Can you spot the changes I made to this chapter (when compared to the original work)? There are plenty. And there will be plenty more.


	3. A New Beginning

**Author's Note**: This story's getting a much warmer reception than my other one. Thanks for that.

* * *

Chapter 3: A New Beginning

Naruto woke up and did his daily routine. He went to his wardrobe and pulled on his dark grey shirt and pants, wanting to break his new clothing in. He tied his orange sash around his waist and went to the kitchen.

He opened the kitchen cabinets and found that he had... nothing. He didn't have anything to eat yesterday, other than breakfast. Sighing deeply, Naruto decided he had some work to do before he went to his team. After all, Kakashi would be late in any case, so he wouldn't be missing out on anything.

Naruto grabbed his wallet and put his dirty clothing from yesterday in a bag – the bag he got from Takeshi yesterday. Afterwards, he put on his shoes and walked out, his three-step plan set and ready to put in motion.

* * *

Naruto walked through the red light district, smiling and waving whenever one of those woman would wave at him. Whether they were those women who gave men 'a good time' or not didn't matter, he was just happy that someone would acknowledge him. Those women had been doing this for a while and he doubted they would ever stop. However, that affection they felt for him, real or fake, felt good and he didn't want it to stop.

He couldn't explain his feelings about those women. In a way, it felt similar to what he felt about Kurenai. Was it because of their age? Was it because they showed him affection in their own ways? One thing was for sure, he didn't feel that way when he was around Sakura. With Sakura, he thought she was cute and smart, which was what attracted him at first.

But Kurenai was all that and far more. She stirred feelings in him that Sakura just wasn't capable of doing. Affection, warmth, even a more physical attraction – if what he experienced that day when he met her was any indication. He thought, more than once, that the reason behind his crush on Sakura was an unusual way to 'beat' Sasuke, who was fully capable of having Sakura as his girlfriend if he just returned her affections, but that wasn't the case, fortunately.

In the past two days, the majority of his thoughts revolved around Kurenai. _What does that mean? That I like Ms. Kurenai more than Sakura? Sakura's cute and all, but she's never been nice to me when she wasn't forced to. And Kurenai is so pretty and nice. Never mind, it's too much effort to think about my feelings right now._

Naruto found himself in the Market District. Creating two Shadow Clones, he had them transform and after giving them the appropriate amount of money, they split up to fulfil their objectives: one would go to the supermarket while the other would take his dirty clothing and go to the Laundromat. They nodded and left.

* * *

Naruto was walking towards Ichiraku Ramen and noticed something interesting. Because of his new clothing, which had substantially less orange, he wasn't recognized by some of the villagers. One or two of them even waved at him, but stopped abruptly once they realized they were waving at the _demon _boy.

_Oh well. Can't change the opinions of the villagers with a slight change of clothing. _Naruto continued to march on, undeterred by the growing depression within him. He shook off the feeling, once he found himself in front of his favourite restaurant. While he could eat at other restaurants with a bit of ninja trickery, he never considered eating anywhere else. He felt like it was betrayal to do so.

"One Miso Ramen and keep them coming, Old Man!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Sure thing... Naruto, is that you?" Teuchi asked.

"Yeah! Like my new clothes?"

"It's... different, but in a good way. What happened to that tracksuit of yours?"

"Took it to the laundry. I can't be a ninja with filthy clothing, after all. And I found this new shop where I bought the clothes I'm wearing at a bargain."

"That's great, Naruto. I'm glad things are working out for you." Teuchi handed Naruto a bowl of ramen. "Here you go."

Naruto began to dig in to his bowl of ramen. Enjoying the flavour like he always did, he quickly finished the bowl. However, there was something bugging him.

"Teuchi? Do you know what nutrition is?" Naruto asked.

"Basically, it refers to how healthy your food is. The healthier the food, the better it is for your body, which helps you to grow more muscle, increase your fitness and so on," Teuchi explained. "Why do you ask?"

"Is there a way to make this ramen more nutritious?" Naruto considered what was regarded as 'healthy', namely vegetables. "Without taking out the flavour," he added. "I want to be a stronger ninja and a healthy ninja is a strong ninja, right?"

Teuchi nodded. "Don't worry. If it's nutrition you want, I know a few tricks to help you out." Teuchi smiled. "I'll whip something up for you by tomorrow."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks!"

Teuchi handed him another bowl. "No problem, Naruto. Anything for my favourite customer."

* * *

After finishing seven bowls of ramen in total, Naruto paid for his breakfast and walked to the bridge. On the way there, he passed the Hokage's Administration Complex. He had an urge to tell the Old Man what he'd been up to for the past two days, but he didn't feel like doing so, not today at least.

If the Hokage knew that the Nine-Tailed Fox was sealed inside of him, what else did he know? Did he know what happened to his clan? Or about what happened to his parents. Did they die on the day of his birth (which was, of course, the day the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked), or did they abandon him? He wasn't willing to ask those questions and leave disappointed, his time completely wasted.

He knew that he couldn't totally rely on the Hokage anymore. Now that he was a ninja, he didn't get a weekly stipend allocated to civilian orphans (and, Naruto recalled, he would have been given money yesterday, so it was fortunate he didn't rely on the stipend any longer), so he would have to pull his own weight and start working hard.

Even if his pranks were therapeutic and a hidden form of revenge, not to mention a test of skills, they would have to stop. There would be other ways to raise his skills. _If Kakashi-sensei would help me, that is. But if he doesn't want to help me, I'll just find another way to become strong. _

* * *

As he approached the bridge, he saw his teammates sitting in their usual positions. Sakura was staring dreamily at Sasuke, who was ignoring her, instead busy thinking about whatever he thought about.

Naruto was about to greet his teammates, but stopped when he remembered his chakra control exercise. He took a leaf and sat on the opposite side of the bridge, beginning to work on the exercise.

He practised for nearly an hour and noticed a decent improvement the first time he tried to move the leaf as it would stick for half a second on its designated location before the leaf burst or slipped from his head. The more times he did it, the longer the leaf stayed attached to his person, although the time difference was marginal.

While he did acknowledge he was improving, he still got frustrated with the exercise, since he wasn't improving to the degree he desired, until he felt his control start to slip. He sighed and put the leaf away, deciding to try the exercise again later on, when he was calm.

He looked up and noticed that his teammates didn't even notice his arrival, which caused him to seethe in anger, hurt that his teammates wouldn't even care enough about him to notice him. Granted, while he was usually much louder than today, he shouldn't have to draw their attention for them to at least greet him, should he? The Hokage always talked about how teams would be like a second family; that was why he was so happy about his team at first.

He had (still had) a major crush on Sakura and he would have been happy having her on any team with him so he could show her how awesome he was, or at least be her friend.

As for Sasuke, his opinion of him was mixed. He felt close to Sasuke because he was someone who could identify with that feeling of loneliness he had. However, Sasuke didn't acknowledge his rivalry with him and was so distant and cold towards everyone else, which always riled him up. Didn't he care about anything at all?

Kakashi was perhaps the worst. For some reason, Kakashi was familiar, like an old friend. Because of this, he felt happy to have him as a sensei. However, he was just setting himself up for yet another disappointment. He refused to teach them anything until he deemed them worthy of it and, despite Naruto's urgings, was adamant in his beliefs.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, as always. Sasuke had a whole clan library he could use to gain knowledge and power. Sakura's parents were ninja and even without their help, she could go to the public library uninhibited, a place he was denied access to because of his _tenant_. Even if he could enter the library through other methods, he wouldn't know where to start.

He was contemplating going to the Old Man again for some assistance, but he had an alternative: Iruka. Iruka knew his flaws as a shinobi and could point him in the right direction, so he'd visit him after practice. He was brought out of his musings as Sakura finally spoke up.

"Naruto?" Naruto raised his head to look at his teammates and noticed that both of them were staring at him with odd expressions.

He smiled at them, happy they had finally acknowledged him, "Hi, Sakura, Sasuke."

Sasuke merely grunted at him as he cast a look at his new clothes. Sakura didn't return her greeting because she was busy staring at Naruto and his new clothes. _Naruto actually looks... good_. _Almost as good as Sasuke._

Naruto cocked his head and looked at Sakura questioningly. He opened his mouth to express his curiosity when Sakura's face twisted into a visage of rage. "What are you trying do, Naruto? Draw me away from Sasuke?"

Naruto's jaw dropped. Sasuke looked at Sakura, shock present on his face. "It won't work! No matter what you do, Sasuke is so much better than you. Right, Sasuke?"

"Sakura. Shut up," Sasuke said coldly. Then he turned back to feigning sleep.

If anything, Sakura was even more shocked than before. "See what you did, Naruto! Now Sasuke hates me because of you!"

Naruto stood up. "I didn't buy these clothes to distract you! I bought them because my tracksuit was dirty because of what _you _did!" Naruto walked away from the bridge.

"Naruto, where are you going? I'm not done with you!" Sakura screeched.

"I need to cool off. I'll be back sooner or later," Naruto strained out between clenched teeth, trying his hardest to not shake violently in anger.

_Sometimes, I wonder if Sakura does this crap deliberately. It's really getting annoying. _"Naruto," Sasuke said. "You have to come back. If you don't, then we can't do anything today. We need you here."

_Figures. Just when I'm about to leave, then Sasuke acknowledges me. _Naruto just waved his hand without turning around to look at Sasuke. With hands in his pockets, he walked into the nearby forest.

A few minutes later, Naruto returned with a lighter expression on his face.

Sasuke smirked. "Glad you listened to me. The sooner we finish these stupid exercises, the sooner we can learn stuff." Naruto smiled in response.

Sakura huffed indignantly. "Yeah. Even if you're an idiot with no skill, we still need you on our team. But that doesn't mean I like you, got it?"

Naruto's face contorted into a scowl, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. _Don't get angry. The Boss wants me to be normal while he goes off to do his own thing. And that's what I'll do._

* * *

Naruto stumbled through the forest, furious at what happened on the bridge. His crush on Sakura was starting to fade as all of her previous actions came to light. Even Sasuke was better than she was, although ultimately, it was only because he was forced on a team with him and he was supposed to do the teamwork exercises mandated by Kakashi that Sasuke would defend him.

They were supposed to be a team, friends, even a family, but now... Naruto wasn't sure. _Acknowledgement from _them_? That'll never happen. Not as long as they see me as the Dead Last loser._

Kakashi barely did anything to stop Sakura or Sasuke. Only yesterday did Kakashi, for the first time, do anything to stop Sakura's abuse – and it was nothing else _but _abuse. He continued to walk through the forest, but after an hour of walking calmly, he felt a phantom pain on the back of his head.

A flood of memories entered his brain, showing him exactly what happened to his clone. _A mishap with the next level of the teamwork exercise causes the clone to get into an argument with Sasuke. Sakura defends Sasuke and pummels the clone, which causes it to dispel._

His eyes turned to ice as he thought about what happened. If Kakashi wasn't willing to do anything to protect him _or _teach him, then he would request a team exchange. He was fed up with Kakashi's lackadaisical attitude towards teaching, Sasuke's aloof attitude and Sakura's bullying. _If that's how they want... then what's the point of being nice to them? They're not my friends; they're not really my teammates either. They're _nothing _to me_.

"Hey kid, we're busy using this training ground. I need you to leave so you won't get hurt." Naruto was shaken out of his reverie by that commanding voice, finding himself in an unfamiliar training ground.

However, he was familiar with the Genin. He wasn't really in the mood to say hello, but instead, he stared at who he assumed their Jōnin-sensei. He had spiky black hair with a beard that covered his entire jaw. He was wearing the Hidden Leaf Uniform, with a sash that had the kanji for 'fire' on it. He looked familiar, for some reason.

The trio of Genin looked at Naruto in surprise, barely recognizing him due to his new look or the cold stare in his eyes.

"Didn't you hear me, kid?" the Jōnin asked.

"Yeah, I did," Naruto replied. "By the way, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Are you related to the Hokage or something?"

The Jōnin blinked before smiling slightly. "The name's Asuma Sarutobi." Asuma took a drag from his cigarette.

A small smile came across Naruto's face. "Nice to meet you." Asuma nodded in response, which caused Team Ten to gape in surprise. At least, Ino did. Chōji just continued to eat his bag of chips despite his surprise while Shikamaru looked at him intently.

For the first time in his life, Shikamaru was perplexed. Since he was fully capable of planning _far_ ahead, he knew exactly what he had to do for his plan to come to fruition. He had yet to be caught off-guard, except by his own father and even then, it was during a game of shogi.

It was fitting that Naruto, the most unpredictable person he knew would do that to him. Naruto, the boy who was a beacon of joy, was now sullen and despondent. Naruto, who wore bright orange, was clad in a dull gray with traces of that bright orange. _What happened to him to make him this way? I have to find out._

He discreetly signalled Asuma, using a hand language they had developed as the two played shogi, and asked him to take Ino and Chōji and leave. He didn't want them to be around when he started questioning Naruto.

His signal gained an interesting look from Asuma, until he quickly glanced at Naruto and looked back at Shikamaru before nodding in agreement. "Chōji, Ino. Let's go. I need to talk to your parents about something so practice is cancelled for today. It was a pleasure meeting you, Naruto." Asuma grabbed his students and disappeared in a tornado of leaves.

Naruto stared at where Asuma left and decided to leave. _I have to see Iruka-sensei anyways._

"Naruto, wait." Shikamaru said. Naruto was surprised to see Shikamaru didn't leave after Asuma did.

"What is it?" he asked tiredly.

"Is there something wrong? This isn't like you. You're always happy and loud, now you're just another version of Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly but Shikamaru caught it. "Is that so?" Naruto laughed a forced laugh. "I'm _nothing _like Sasuke," he growled. "He has admirers; he's the last Uchiha, which means that he'll always have sympathy from this village. Me? I'm lucky to even have _one _friend. But why am I telling you this? It's just too troublesome for you, isn't it?"

_He's finally cracking._ "Naruto," Shikamaru said seriously. "It isn't. I'm just curious. You were laughed at constantly and it didn't get to you. I saw the villagers glare at you before, that didn't get to you either? What changed?"

"I've just had enough. My sensei doesn't teach me anything, my teammates hate me for no reason and I can't learn anything because I don't know where to start," Naruto said quietly. "I even left a clone with them and they didn't notice that it was any different until it... dispelled."

_The only type of clone that can do something like that is a Shadow Clone. Quite a crafty move, Naruto. _"Look, Naruto. You've never let this sort of thing get you down before. Why start now? It'd probably be too much of a drag, right?" Naruto nodded, which caused Shikamaru to smile.

"I haven't really been much of a friend towards you. I remember you would tag along with me, Chōji and Kiba back in the day just to have a friend and I didn't acknowledge that bit about you. What I'm trying to say is, I want to help you out."

Naruto smiled. "You'd really do that for me?"

Shikamaru raised his hand. "Yeah, we were friends at one point and it was my fault that we didn't stay friends. In any case, being friends with you can't be too bad, can it? You're interesting and lively. Even if it would be a bit of a drag to keep up with you sometimes, it would be worse for me to abandon you in your time of need."

Naruto raised his hand as well, shaking Shikamaru's, giving him a radiant smile. "Then it looks like we're friends, Shikamaru. Believe it."

* * *

**Author's Note**: If you're wondering about whether Shikamaru's parents are going to have a role in this story or not, they will, in due time. In any case, the most important change that I made to Naruto from the original is that he's more self-reliant. If he could live alone for over four years, then he should be. His only problem is that with learning, he doesn't know where to start. He'll get help soon enough.

Can you spot the other changes?


	4. Rebirth

Chapter 4: Rebirth

After Shikamaru left, mentioning something about helping him with his book problem, Naruto ran to the Academy. He wanted an accurate assessment of his skills, so that he could work on his flaws and turn them into strengths.

Just when he reached the entrance of the Academy, he was hit with a barrage of memories. _The clone wasn't discovered. That's so cool! The clone got home safely as well, groceries in hand. Looks like I'll be eating good tonight. _Naruto smiled and walked into the Academy. It was ironic. Before he'd want nothing but to leave this place when he was supposed to be there, but not that he was a Genin, he found himself coming back without being forced to.

He ran through the corridors of the Academy with ease and locating Iruka's classroom would be even easier. He entered to find Iruka grading test papers. He looked up to find out who opened the door, only to smile when he saw who it was.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked, taking in Naruto's new look. "What are you doing here?"

"I need help, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said. "Can you tell me my weaknesses? Where I need help?"

"Take a seat, Naruto," Iruka said. "This is going to take some time." Naruto pulled out a seat and sat in front of Iruka's desk.

"Let's begin," Iruka said seriously. "What I've noticed about you is that you seem to learn by doing, or you learn faster when you have a specific goal in mind. Otherwise, your focus is non-existent and you don't learn anything, especially when you're not interested – which is why your marks in theory were terrible.

"You actually have great potential in Ninjutsu. Due to your large chakra reserves and your ability to learn high-level jutsu quickly, I'd say that, among this year's graduating class, you have the _greatest _potential to learn Ninjutsu. Only Sasuke comes close and that's with the Sharingan helping him out."

_At least there's one thing that I'm better than Sasuke at! _Naruto beamed. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka smiled. "I'm not finished yet. Your Taijutsu needs some work."

"But I scored well in Taijutsu!" Naruto interjected.

"That's because you have an extraordinary amount of stamina, especially for someone your size," Iruka shot back. "Anyway, you need work in your Taijutsu forms, putting in the correct amount of power in your strikes without losing your centre of gravity, performing moves properly so that they don't lose their effectiveness and reading your opponent's moves and countering them with your own."

"As for Genjutsu… I'm not sure if you have the talent for it. You need good chakra control to be able to subtly manipulate your opponent and with the amount of chakra you have, combined with your _tenant_, I'm not sure if you can ever send the appropriate amount of chakra required for Genjutsu without overloading your opponent's chakra network and prematurely dispelling the Genjutsu."

Naruto looked downcast. "I've been working on a chakra control exercise, but I haven't been able to complete it."

"A chakra control exercise? Show me the exercise." Naruto jumped through the window, grabbed a leaf from a nearby tree and returned to Iruka.

"The leaf exercise?" Naruto nodded. He placed the leaf on his forehead, showing Iruka his progress with that version of the exercise. Naruto then had the leaf move to another part of his body using chakra, but the leaf flew from his forehead.

"That's an interesting exercise. Was it to push the leaf as far as you could?" Iruka asked.

"No! I want to attach the leaf to another part of my body. My plan was to push the leaf off my forehead and then pull it towards another part of my body, only using chakra."

"Hand over the leaf," Iruka ordered. Naruto complied and watched in awe at Iruka's prowess in chakra control. After a couple of attempts, he was able to bounce the leaf to virtually any part of his body. Iruka handed Naruto back the leaf.

"How did you do that?" Naruto asked energetically.

"You need to use only a bit of chakra when pushing the leaf. You have to use the same amount of chakra to pull back the leaf. I think your problem is that you put in far more chakra than you need to. So the leaf will either be pushed far away from you or it won't stick at all."

Naruto's grin widened as he heard Iruka's words, understanding fully. _I can't help but think that I've heard this before. Ah, whatever! _"Thank you, Iruka-sensei! For all the help you've given me."

Iruka smiled. "No problem, Naruto. I'm just glad that you're finally showing some dedication to becoming a splendid shinobi. After all, you have the potential to become one. Just remember, the most important weapon for a shinobi isn't the flashiest jutsu." Iruka pointed at his head. "It's his or her mind."

Naruto waved goodbye and ran out of Iruka's classroom and the Academy. He staggered for a bit when he was hit with an influx of memories. _I got some help with my laundry and my clone wasn't discovered. Now I can come here whenever I want and I don't have to wash my clothes in the lake or some other body of water! That's so cool!_

* * *

The next day, Naruto was walking to his team's meeting place. While he was still furious with his team for what happened yesterday, he was willing to give them one last chance. _Hopefully Sakura got the message. _

His breakfast consisted of miso soup and milk, since he wanted to try out different, healthier foods that weren't difficult to prepare. _Maybe I should get a cookbook or something. _He was wearing the same clothes that he wore yesterday.

Soon enough, Naruto found himself at his team's meeting place. In a show of courtesy, he waved to his teammates. "Hi Sakura, Sasuke."

Both Sasuke and Sakura glared at him. Sasuke crossed his arms over his shirt. "Nice going, loser. Because of you, we couldn't do the mission that Kakashi promised we could do after we finished the exercise."

Naruto's smile faltered. "Well, if Sakura could control her anger, then maybe we could have done a mission. So blame her instead!"

Sakura marched over to Naruto, fist cocked and ready to strike. "Naruto! Don't blame me for you being a spineless excuse of a ninja!" She launched her fist towards Naruto. He blocked it by catching her wrist, gripping it tightly. He drove his other fist into Sakura's gut, which caused her to spit out blood.

"I thought you would've learned your lesson about hitting me, because if you did, there wouldn't be a problem, now would there?" Naruto growled. His voice was deeper, more demonic. _Crush her, kill her, Naruto! You know you want to! _The voice inside Naruto's head screamed. "It's time for you to learn it the hard way!" Naruto raised his other fist and was about to punch Sakura's face with all his strength, but his fist was caught in a vice-like grip.

Sakura, who was knocked to the ground by Kakashi, looked into Naruto's eyes and stepped backwards. _His eyes are red! How? _She took a deep breath to calm herself down, but it hurt to do so. The taste of metallic liquid still lingered on her tastebuds. Taking a finger, she placed it below her lip and looked at the red liquid that stained it. _Blood… My blood…_

"Naruto, are you alright?" Kakashi asked, his grip on Naruto's fist didn't falter. "You wouldn't normally hit Sakura, now would you?" Naruto shook his head tersely.

"You're early today, sensei. What's your plan, then?" Naruto asked coldly.

_I shouldn't have let Sakura _ever _hit him. I made a mistake in trying to let them sort out their problems on their own. Now… _"We're going to have a chat, Naruto. Sakura, Sasuke, head to the Mission Assignment Desk," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, who returned his gaze. _Those eyes… they're just like _His_. _Naruto's eyes were blue, but they were cold, devoid of emotion. _What would cause him to stare at me like that? _Sasuke turned away, feeling remorse for not considering Naruto's feelings, despite him being able to understand Naruto's pain.

Sakura was trembling in both fear and anger towards her teammate. _Stupid Naruto! Who does he think he is to – _Sakura grunted in pain, clutching her stomach. _Is this how Naruto feels? _She quickly brushed off that thought when she realized that she would be alone with her crush. However, Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

Sasuke didn't wait around for Sakura to follow him. The flood of terrible memories from that day made him afraid, afraid that _Naruto _was capable of making him feel like that. He didn't want to feel like that any longer.

Naruto turned to face the river, placing his forearms on the bridge's railing. _What's the point of being friendly towards _them? _They're worthless. It was a waste of my time even trying to be friends with them. They're just like that bastard Hibachi and his gang of losers. _Naruto shut his eyes in frutstration. _Sakura didn't even learn her lesson. I don't want her to hit me. Bad things happen if you abuse your teammates. She didn't learn and I bet she never will._

Kakashi joined him, thinking of what happened. _I don't know. This team is falling apart and I don't know what to do. Hopefully Naruto doesn't lose his attitude. He's the glue that keeps this team together._

"Naruto." Kakashi began slowly. "What's wrong?"

Naruto kept staring at the river. "Can you tell me?"

"Something must be bothering you. I understand that it can't be that easy to be around people who don't like you, but you should try to separate your personal feelings from the task at hand."

"I did!" Naruto exclaimed. "And where did that get me? Nowhere!" Naruto gripped the railing tightly to keep his growing anger in control. "Think about it. The only thing I did wrong yesterday was have a clone go to your stupid teamwork exercise."

"That means that you showed little respect for your teammates. And you didn't consider what would happen to them due to your selfishness," Kakashi replied seriously.

"Respect? Why should I respect those people?" Naruto snarled. "Sakura hits me constantly and treats me like dirt. Sasuke only cares about where I go if it affects the team, since the only thing he cares about is getting stronger.

"And the one time I defend myself and the one time I think for myself instead of my team, I get punished. Why? I didn't do anything to anyone!" Naruto screamed.

"Look, Naruto, there are times where you're going to be on a team with people you don't like. You'll have to suck it up and work with your teammates to complete missions."

"The Hokage always said that your first team is like your family. That must have been a lie!" _Just like all the other lies he told me. _"How can I work with my team if they don't trust me?"

"That's why I've been doing teamwork exercises for the past month," Kakashi said. "I want to build a foundation of trust for your team before I teach you any jutsu."

"Well, it's not going to work. In fact, our teamwork's only getting worse!" Naruto released his grip on the railing, walking towards the Mission Assignment Desk. "You're the leader of our team, make something up that will save it, but know this: Any chances of our team being a family have come and gone." _Maybe I can still work with them, but being their friends? Never!_

Kakashi watched Naruto walk away from him, shocked by his most energetic student's words. The look in his eyes was something Kakashi never wanted to see in a boy Naruto's age. _I need to make something up. It's my fault things are like this. But what can I do? Without teamwork, even a team of prodigies will fail. _Kakashi walked towards the Mission Assignment Desk, thinking about ways to save his team.

* * *

Naruto walked towards the Mission Assignment Desk, thinking about what happened on the bridge. He felt regret for what he did to Sakura, but that regret was quashed by all the things Sakura did to him. _I had a crush on her? For what? She's no better than these stupid villagers!_ He also felt remorse for shouting at his sensei. However, he felt a weight lifting from his chest at the same time.

_It feels good, doesn't it? You are strong, Naruto. Show them!_ The voice was familiar to Naruto, although he couldn't place where he heard it before.

"Where are you? Don't be a coward and show yourself!" Naruto called out to the voice. He received no answer, but the villagers that were around Naruto glared at him. "What are you idiots looking at? Do I have something on my face? Answer me!"

One of the villagers, a man, came to Naruto. "Hey kid, who do you think you are? You're just trash, a dem –"

Naruto glared at him with all the anger he could muster. "I'm not a demon! I've done nothing to you people and you treat me like I'm worse than the most disgusting trash! I'm Naruto Uzumaki and if you ever look at me and see the Nine-Tailed Fox, I'll make you regret it!" Naruto walked away from the man and the rest of the shocked villagers. The ones who would glare at him would receive a glare from Naruto in return.

_Why would I bother protecting this village when I become Hokage? They don't deserve _anything _from me._ Naruto took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. _I need to finish that stupid mission after all, then I can go to Ichiraku Ramen. They treat me like I'm a person and not the damn Fox and for that, I will always be grateful to them. _

* * *

Naruto was walking aimlessly through the village after finishing the mission and leaving Ichiraku Ramen. His 'team' had been forced to capture the Fire Lady's cat, Tora and it took most of the day to catch it. Oddly enough, Naruto had been the one to capture Tora and instead of being scratched by it, it was docile.

It must have been because Naruto was silent throughout the mission. He was still angry at his team, but he kept his emotions in control and focused on the mission. It caused his teammates and Kakashi to feel awkward, but Naruto couldn't care less, so long as the mission was complete.

Eating lunch at Ichiraku Ramen restored some of Naruto's good mood, especially when Teuchi told him about the pill he added when making the ramen. The pill was a multivitamin pill that focused on building and toning the body's muscles, as well as converting all of the ramen into nutrients when digested. It also had no effect on the ramen's taste.

Naruto eventually noticed that he was on Team Ten's training ground, where he found Shikamaru about to leave with his team. However, Shikamaru noticed Naruto and came to him instead.

"Hey Naruto," Shikamaru said lazily. "I brought you a few things I thought you might like."

"What is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"I brought you some books, like you asked." he said. He made sure that the books were easy enough to read, so that Naruto could understand them.

"Show me." Naruto smiled widely, grateful that Shikamaru would pull through for him.

Shikamaru pulled the books out of a sealing scroll and handed Naruto five books.

_Shinobi Rules and Maxims_

_Basic Chakra Control _

_Hidden Leaf Village: A History_

_How to Train_

_Genjutsu for Beginners_

"Why would you give me 'Hidden Leaf Village: A History'?" Naruto asked.

"It will teach you about how our wonderful village was formed and how it came to be," Shikamaru answered with a lazy smile.

"No thanks!" Naruto was about to hand the book back, but Shikamaru decided to play his trump card.

"Did you know there was a passage about a clan named Uzumaki?" As far as he knew, Naruto didn't know who his parents were; as such he was hesitant to bring up the information. His feelings of worry disappeared when he saw Naruto look through the book frantically.

"Don't be in a rush to read about your clan right now. These books are yours now."

"These are mine? Thank you." Naruto said.

"Don't mention it. These books were just taking up space at home and it would be a drag to keep them," Shikamaru replied. He was, however, smiling at his friend.

Naruto looked at the rest of his new books, pausing at 'Genjutsu for Beginners'. "Genjutsu?" he asked. "Why Genjutsu?"

Shikamaru placed his hands in his pockets. "I'd think you'd do great in Genjutsu, Naruto."

"You really think so? I asked Iruka-sensei and he said that I wouldn't do so well with Genjutsu. I even asked the Hokage and he said Ninjutsu was the best path for me."

"I disagree. Genjutsu requires imagination, which you have a lot of. You can practice chakra control and unlike Ninjutsu, it's easier to create your own jutsu when you use Genjutsu," Shikamaru explained. "Your creativity and your unpredictability are essential for becoming a master of Genjutsu."

_Time to convince him_. "Besides, only a few people focus on Genjutsu, since they think it's a drag to focus on something so subtle." Naruto's budding excitement grew in intensity.

"Most people say that Genjutsu is weak and it would be a waste of time to study it," Shikamaru added.

"No one ever takes Genjutsu seriously." Naruto frowned, wondering what the point in learning it was.

"Imagine the looks of awe that people would give you if they saw that the village's strongest shinobi specialized in Genjutsu." _Hopefully that did the trick._

Shikamaru knew Naruto craved acknowledgement, due to the size and audacity of his pranks, as well as his previous attitude, so using that as a base to convince Naruto was a necessary part of his plan. With Naruto's creativity, ability to plan on the spot and his abilities in stealth, he'd be a great assassin. Combine that with some supplementary Ninjutsu, Naruto would eventually become the strongest shinobi in the village.

Naruto's eyes were bright with the fire of determination. "You're right, Shikamaru. I'll become the greatest Genjutsu master in the history of this village. Believe it!"

Shikamaru leaned back and smiled a lazy smile. "That's the spirit."

"Thanks, Shikamaru!" Naruto's smile was bright and radiant, like the sun.

Shikamaru smiled. "No problem. If you need more books though, don't be afraid to ask." He turned away and began to walk. After taking a few steps, he turned around. "By the way, if you want, feel free to come to my house for dinner or something. It seems that my parents have taken an interest in you, for whatever reason."

Shikamaru walked away, leaving Naruto to look at his books. He was eager to read about his clan, as well as his other books, including the Genjutsu book. _Ms. Kurenai might know something about Genjutsu. I wonder if_ _she could give me some advice._ Naruto took his books and walked home, his mind whirring with ways to use illusions to his advantage.

* * *

**Author's Note**: When I was editing this chapter and changing it around, I tried to deepen the relationships that Naruto already had instead of contriving new relationships. With Iruka, he would know where Naruto would need work in. Teuchi is a great cook (well, as far as Naruto's opinion goes), so I bet he would know some tricks to help Naruto out, so that Naruto wouldn't have to suddenly get help from a clan that didn't care enough to help him when he was a kid, just because of Shikamaru.

As for Team Seven, another thing that confused me was that Naruto shouted at them or treated them badly in this chapter, but his anger didn't extend to the villagers. I changed that to something more appropriate.

What I'm trying to go for is a Naruto that retains his determination from the show, as well as his kindness and empathy (towards his friends), but he's done with wasting time pursuing relationships with people who don't want it and he's not going to fight for the acknowledgement of a village that hates him.

Please review and tell me how I'm doing so far. If you've read "Masters of Genjutsu", tell me how you like the story compared to that.


	5. Sense

Chapter 5: Sense

Naruto dashed home and once he did, he placed the books that he got from Shikamaru on the table in his living room and immediately took out _Hidden Leaf Village: A History_. He sat down on the nearest chair and opened the book immediately after. He was bouncing in excitement at the prospect of learning about his family and was incredibly grateful that Shikamaru gave him an opportunity to do so.

Even if his mind was mostly occupied with reading about his clan, Naruto still had an idea of the order in which he wanted to read the books. He would set a pace for himself, like real ninja do and train his chakra control and his body before learning more about Genjutsu.

But first, he would learn about his family. Naruto began to flip through the book frantically for any page with the name 'Uzumaki'. While he was doing that, he skipped through many significant points of the Leaf's history. He lingered around the page that described the fight between the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, who used the Nine-Tailed Fox during the fight.

He was impressed with how well Old Man Hokage fought, especially in three different wars. There were other stories, but when Naruto passed a picture of the Fourth Hokage on top of a large toad, he stopped moving through the book and stared at the picture. _Why... why would you seal the Nine-Tailed Fox in me?_

Naruto shook off the feelings of dread that were creeping up on him and continued flipping through the large book. _Now I know why I never read this. This is so boring!_ He was flipping through the last few pages of the book when he finally noticed his family name. _Uzumaki: Pages 473-500_. _Gah! I'm on page 800. Flip back, flip back! _

Naruto finally got to page 473, where the following words were displayed: "_The Village Hidden in the Swirling Tides and its relation to The Village Hidden in the Leaves_." _Here we go! _

_The Village Hidden in the Swirling Tides, or more commonly known as the Hidden Whirlpool Village, was established shortly after the establishment of the five Great Hidden Villages. Starting small, Whirlpool became world-renowned for its prowess in the sealing arts, as well as its diverse range of skills in other branches of ninja arts. _

_Whirlpool was a close ally to the Hidden Leaf Village from the time it was formed until its destruction, which happened just after the end of the Second Shinobi World War. The main reason for this was the fact that the Uzumaki Clan, Whirlpool's largest clan, were allies of the Leaf's Senju Clan during the Clan War period. In order to strengthen ties between the two villages, a political marriage between the Leaf's First Hokage, Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki from Whirlpool occurred. This had the added effect of creating a new alliance between the two villages._

_While members of Whirlpool had a wide range of abilities, ranging from the ability to manifest chains of chakra or the ability to use the lava chakra nature, one ability stood out as the most common and prominent among Whirlpool's denizens, specifically its Uzumaki clan._

_It was the ability to sense chakra flow and chakra signatures, which significantly increased the sensor's combat and tracking abilities. Not much is known about the mechanics behind this ability but it was assumed that as the sensor's control over their chakra increased, their ability to sense would increase as well, to the point where it would be a 'sixth sense' for them. _

_A common trait that members of the Uzumaki clan, as well as citizens of Whirlpool had was their increased longevity. The possession of this trait would result in a faster metabolism, quicker recovery time, larger chakra reserves and an increased life expectancy. This led to Whirlpool being nicknamed "The Village of Longevity". _

_Unfortunately, the potential power that Whirlpool had due to its skilled ninja, range of abilities and most importantly, their prowess in fūinjutsu gave them a fearsome reputation, which eventually resulted in its destruction. The remaining living members of Whirlpool scattered across the world, moving to different Hidden Villages including Hidden Mist, Hidden Sand, Hidden Cloud, Hidden Rain, Hidden Grass and, most significantly, the Village Hidden in the Leaves._

The sheer pride he felt from his clan being so feared and so famous caused Naruto to smile intensely. _I knew I was awesome and my clan is totally awesome too! Although... why wouldn't the Hokage tell me about my clan? There are Uzumaki in other Hidden Villages, right? So, didn't he want me to know that I had a family at all?_

Naruto sighed deeply and looked at the passage about his clan and his clan's village again, specifically looking at the Sensor ability, since he didn't want to dwell on such unpleasant thoughts. It said that the better control the sensor had over their chakra, the better their sensing ability would be. Since Naruto would have to have good chakra control in order to learn and master Genjutsu, if he was capable of being a Sensor as well, that would be fantastic.

_Killing two birds with one kunai, as Iruka-sensei would say. _Naruto put down the history book and grabbed _Basic Chakra Control_.He opened it and began to read.

_Chakra is the combination of both spiritual and physical energy. Learning how well these two energies must be balanced when chakra is moulded is important to using the minimum amount of chakra with the maximum amount of efficiency. If there is an imbalance between the two energies during the formation of chakra, chakra will be wasted and the effectiveness of any techniques used will decrease. Meditation is one way to learn how to effectively balance physical and spiritual energy._

Naruto closed his eyes and imagined himself reaching for his chakra. It was easy for him to do so and he smiled as he felt an abundant amount of energy flowing within him. He reached farther in and felt for the combination of physical and spiritual energy. He ignored the feeling of whirling chakra and pushed on deeper until he could 'see' the vast lake that was his chakra divided into physical and spiritual energy. His spiritual energy was quite small, although he could feel it grow bit by bit.

He continued reading. _Physical energy increases as you train your body and spiritual energy increases as you train your mind._ _The simplest way to combine the two is leaf attachment._ The book explained how it was done and Naruto read it a few times to make sure he was doing the exercise correctly. He smiled and continued reading.

_Once you have completed the leaf attachment exercise, the next_ _step is to cling to a surface using chakra._

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "How could surface clinging help my chakra control?" He read on to find out the answer.

_The point of this exercise is to stick to the surface in the same way a leaf would stick to you. Using too much chakra will 'push' you away from the surface, but using too little chakra will cause you to slip off instead._ _It is a more advanced version of the leaf attachment exercise._

_Sounds easy enough, _Naruto thought. He went to the nearest wall and began to run towards it. When he reached it, he channelled chakra to his feet and made an attempt to walk on the wall. Naruto took one step, two... Naruto smiled in anticipation for his victory over the exercise, but when he took a third step, his foot slipped and he lost balance, falling onto the ground. Naruto looked at the wall, standing up in order to try again.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Naruto sat on Team Seven's bridge, waiting for his teammates to arrive. While he was busy with his self-made leaf exercise, he reflected on his attempts at surface clinging. He struggled at first, but after figuring out how much chakra he needed to cling onto the wall, he was able to walk up the wall of his apartment and stick to the ceiling. However, if he was to master the exercise, he would have to be able to fight for at least one hour while sticking onto the ceiling, which he wasn't able to do.

_Yet. _Naruto thought. He began to channel chakra under the leaf, which was attached to his forehead. He slowly decreased the amount of chakra that kept his leaf where it was while making sure that no additional chakra affected this process, something he had noticed while he meditated and felt for his chakra. He knew why – _Stupid Fox. _

The leaf began to move slightly in response. Naruto continued decreasing the amount of chakra sticking to the leaf until the leaf moved away from his forehead and began to descend. He was about to use chakra to pull the leaf to his hand, but a breeze of wind prevented him from doing that, blowing the leaf away from him.

Naruto opened his eyes in frustration. "Damn wind! Let's try again." Naruto was about to grab another leaf, however, he was unable to do so when saw his teammates arrive on the bridge.

"It's you two," he said calmly.

Sasuke nodded at Naruto before leaning on the bridge's railing. Ever since that day last week, Naruto had changed. Where before he would be loud and annoying, now he was quiet and subdued, like he didn't want to be around them. While he was polite, even affable when spoken to, he made no effort to start conversation or invite them to Ichiraku Ramen. It was aggravating.

While this new Naruto was a good partner, he wasn't a good friend. He even stopped their (one-sided) rivalry, which Sasuke acknowledged – although he never expressed it. He remembered the conversation they had a few days before.

"_Naruto, don't you want to fight me? I thought you and I were rivals."_

_Naruto laughed as if what he said was a joke. "No we aren't. You never cared about our rivalry and now... I don't either."_

This new Naruto was worse than the old one and nowadays, Sasuke found himself wishing for even a bit of the old Naruto to return. _Maybe I should have acknowledged the rivalry, if it meant Naruto would be my friend. _Naruto kept him from remembering his parents' death whenever he was around, now he couldn't stop thinking about it, which made him more withdrawn, sullen.

Sakura watched Naruto pull the hood of his orange sweater over his head and continue with the exercise he was doing. Naruto's new attitude was beneficial for the team. Ever since he stopped asking her for dates, stopped shouting incessantly and stopped being a nuisance, their effectiveness as a team increased by quite a bit.

However, ever since Naruto attacked her on that day, her relationship with him deteriorated to the point where it became virtually non-existent. He looked at her like she wasn't worth looking at and if she would speak to him; he would either reply in that irritatingly polite attitude of his or just walk away from her. When that happened, she found her fist tightening, but she wasn't able to hit Naruto, due to the memory of his blood-red eyes slamming into her mind before she could hit him. _There's no point in doing it, I'll just be hurt instead._

Naruto's lack of affection towards her should have made her attempts in winning Sasuke's affection easier, but without the confidence Naruto gave her every day he asked for a date, she found her previous insecurities increasing. If Naruto, the village's most notorious prankster, didn't want her, why would Sasuke?

Naruto took a moment to look at his teammates and had to suppress a triumphant smirk. _It serves them right. _Before, Naruto would make any excuse to learn more about his teammates. He would walk with them back to their houses and come as early as he could and try to speak to them about anything, in an attempt to be friends with them.

Since that obviously didn't work out, Naruto would normally come as late as he possibly could without actually being late and leave as soon as Kakashi dismissed them. He had better things to do, like train or hang out with people who actually cared about him, like the Ichirakus, Konohamaru or Shikamaru. If Kurenai wasn't busy, he would hang out with her, too.

Even with Team Seven's personal relationships being non-existent, their professional relationship couldn't be better. Naruto was the first one to respond to orders, even if they came from his teammates and followed them, no matter how angry they made him. It was all for the sake of having a decent working relationship with his teammates, even if he didn't want their friendship.

It wasn't easy – oftentimes, Naruto would want to shout in frustration, but he stopped himself before he could. The book that Shikamaru gave him, _Shinobi Rules and Maxims_, was a great help and built a foundation, but only where missions were concerned. The results paid off: Team Seven's teamwork and effectiveness were better than ever – even if their interpersonal relationships weren't.

_No matter. _Naruto thought. _It's only until I earn my promotion to Chūnin, where I'll have to work with people _worse _than Sasuke or Sakura, so what I'm doing now is good practice for later on. _Naruto began to focus on his exercise again, a determined smile growing on his face.

* * *

Naruto was focusing intensely on the exercise. He was thinking about the advice that Iruka-sensei gave him, but the amount of chakra he used to pull the leaf back was either too much or too little. His fluctuating chakra control didn't help things, even if it was improving.

Naruto considered alternatives to moving the leaf around. His mind was racing and the intensity of his chakra grew even more. Suddenly, Naruto's concentration on the leaf wavered as his mind was assaulted with an influx of information, which was different from what happened after a Shadow Clone dispelled. Naruto clutched his head and grunted in pain.

Sakura noticed Naruto from where she was standing and in concern for her teammate, she approached him. "Naruto, are you ok?"

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Sakura. He smiled at Sakura, grateful that she cared for him, even a little bit. "Don't worry, Sakura. I'm alright."

Sakura smiled in return, which helped ease her nervousness for Naruto. "That's good."

Naruto nodded. After Sakura walked back to where she was standing, he considered what caused that weird feeling. _I was concentrating on the leaf before that happened. When I did, I could see Sakura and Sasuke, even when my eyes were closed. No... I didn't see them, I sensed them. I'm a Sensor!_

Naruto closed his eyes, feeling for other chakra besides his own. _I can see Sakura and Sasuke and the feel... confused? _Naruto paused. How could he tell they were confused? _Must have just been their chakra pulsing or something._ _Anyway, next closest is... _Naruto realized that he would have to train this new ability in order to use it in combat, but for now, he was amazed at how cool this ability was.

Naruto sensed a chakra signature beneath the bridge. "Kakashi-sensei, please come out." Kakashi appeared on the bridge in response. _I knew it! I wasn't sure at first, but there's no signature under the bridge now! _

Kakashi stared at Naruto. "How did you know that I was there?" While it was possible to train in chakra detection, if Kakashi's suspicions were confirmed, Naruto might be a natural Sensor. Compared to a Sensor, a person who trained in chakra detection might as well be blind, since a Sensor's ability to sense chakra was far superior, even if the chakra detector trained for years.

"I felt your chakra, as well as Sasuke and Sakura's chakra – when I 'saw' you, you looked gray with a blue dot, which was larger than the others."

_Looks like I was right. _"Congratulations, Naruto. You're a Sensor," Kakashi announced.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and felt inferior. He learned that a Sensor who was sufficiently skilled could completely negate the Sharingan. While it would probably be good for their team, he couldn't help but growl in frustration and slight jealousy.

Sakura knew what a Sensor was and what a Sensor could do, so when she considered how effective her team could be, she looked at Naruto in slight amazement, which Naruto noticed.

"Alright, my cute little Genin. Let's go and get a mission," Kakashi said, shaking Sakura and Sasuke out of their respective thought processes.

* * *

While Team Seven were walking to the Mission Assignment Desk, Naruto had a genuine grin on his face. He was ecstatic to find out that he was a Sensor. He was going to ask Kakashi if he could get assistance in cultivating his ability, but he was interrupted by Sasuke.

"Kakashi," Sasuke started.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. He was focusing on his novel, but he managed to avoid obstacles and other villagers with ease.

"Is there another way to sense chakra without being a Sensor?" he asked.

"Yes. It's called chakra detection, but it requires years of training to use effectively. Even if you know how to use it, like I do, it will still be inferior to a Sensor's ability," Kakashi casually replied.

Sasuke's eyes twinkled, although he still maintained an outward air of indifference. "Could you teach the technique to me?"

"Sure. I'll teach you and Sakura how to detect chakra," Kakashi answered. Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement. So did Sakura, who was walking just behind the rest of her team.

"What about me?" Naruto asked, making his voice a bit louder than he normally would.

"I don't know if it'll help if you learned the technique, but if you feel like it will, you're free to join in," Kakashi replied.

"...Thanks," Naruto said half-heartedly, since Kakashi didn't exactly say yes. _It may just help after all._

* * *

Naruto was walking to his training clearing, lost in thought. What happened today was an interesting experience. Sakura actually showed concern for him and was impressed with his special ability. However, doubt began to spread through his mind. _How long will Sakura be like this? _Naruto would be willing to be friends with Sakura or Sasuke if and only if they were willing to; he wouldn't try to push them for it, however.

Naruto passed the Memorial Stone on the way and stopped to look at it for a bit, trying to find anyone who had the same last name that he did. The only one he found was "Kushina Uzumaki". The name was placed just below the name of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, which was an interesting coincidence. _Whoever this Kushina was must have been a hero! I'm glad that I'm related to someone like that._

Naruto continued onwards, stopping next to the forest behind the Memorial Stone. Using his new ability, he felt the world around him fade to grey. His current range of vision was small, but with a lot of practice and better chakra control, Naruto was sure that his range of vision would increase. He didn't notice anyone around him and once he made sure using his normal senses, Naruto entered the forest and walked to his training clearing.

* * *

After completing his daily training, which consisted of one hundred pushups, one hundred situps and ten laps around the field that consisted of his training clearing, Naruto began to climb up different trees in order to master surface clinging. His current training regimen was inspired by the book _How to Train_, which was a great help in helping Naruto become more fit and healthy than before.

The book also said that he shouldn't expect gaining his ideal body overnight, which was something he agreed with. After all, in order to become a legendary shinobi, he would have to work hard and be patient – the results would come soon and be worth the effort.

Soon after, Naruto performed some cooldown stretches and walked to his personal waterfall. He used his Sensor ability to make sure that nobody (especially Kurenai) was using the waterfall. Since nobody was around, he went there and sat on the rock near the waterfall, pulling out _Genjutsu for Beginners. _When he opened the book, a note fell out of it. He picked it up and began to read.

_Naruto_

_The following are the meanings of certain words. Hope they help you out._

_..._

_Subtlety – Necessary in the art of stealth and covert ops. It is the ability to be as discreet as possible, doing this that are barely noticeable, if they're noticeable at all._

_Finesse – The ability to do an action with style._

_..._

_– Shikamaru_

_Gee, thanks, Shikamaru! _Naruto thought, grateful that Shikamaru would be willing to help him understand words he struggled with. He placed the note in the book and began to flip through the foreword in order to get to the first chapter. Since he was used to reading books like this one, he quickly got to the first chapter and began to read.

_Genjutsu, or the art of illusions, is one of the hardest to master, due to the difficulty of gauging one's level in the art. Experts generally regard one as a master when he or she can trap their own teacher in an illusion. Unlike Ninjutsu, which relies on the user's chakra or the environment, or Taijutsu, which relies on the user's physical ability, Genjutsu relies on the user's imagination, creativity and mental fortitude._

_Genjutsu Masters are few and far in between, mostly because of the difficulty of achieving the necessary conditions required to use Genjutsu to its fullest extent. The most difficult aspect the aspiring Genjutsu user must master is chakra control. Many people are simply incapable of maintaining the necessary amount of control required to invade their opponent's chakra network, which is required to introduce illusions and other mental effects on the opponent by manipulating chakra flowing through the opponent's brain. _

_The best Genjutsu users are perceptive of their surroundings, which is a must for casting and recognizing Genjutsu. Observation is also a key aspect for the ideal Genjutsu user. The more realistic and accurate the illusion is, there is less of a chance of the target being able to break the illusion. Likewise, the more subtle the illusion, the harder it is to break _

_The two most common types of Genjutsu are as follows. The most widely used type of Genjutsu is known as 'single-target' Genjutsu. This includes manipulating the target's senses, placing false images or thoughts in their subconscious and even inflicting afflictions such as vertigo or paralysis. _

_The second type of Genjutsu, are 'multi-target' or environmental Genjutsu. These illusions affect more than one target and are therefore more difficult to perform. The ultimate technique known in this branch of Genjutsu is known as Infinite Darkness, which was used by both the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, among others._

_There are also ways to boost the effectiveness of Genjutsu, with the use of a kekkei genkai, or bloodline limit. There are two clans that have such a kekkei genkai. The first and lesser known clan is the Kurama clan. Their kekkei genkai has no specific shape or name, which helps to increase its effectiveness, as the target would never be able to tell if it was activated. Each member of the clan is known for possessing an inner demon that is the cause of the Kurama clan's prowess in Genjutsu, however, said demon slowly kills those possessed by it. _

_The second and most prominent clan is the Uchiha clan. Their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, takes the form of a red iris with any number of one to three tomoe in both eyes, which acts as an indicator of the eye's effectiveness. The Sharingan allows the Uchiha to see through Genjutsu, as well as cast it only through eye contact. _

_There are three known ways to dispel a Genjutsu. The first and least recommended method is to dispel the Genjutsu by hurting yourself._

_The second and most preferable method is to completely stop your flow of chakra and then release a large amount of chakra throughout your chakra network, dispelling the external chakra polluting your chakra network._

_The third method used to dispel Genjutsu is where the target has a partner push chakra into their chakra network, which removes any other external chakra._

Naruto was quite satisfied with what he learned about Genjutsu. Since he was at the waterfall, he would take a shower before going home. He took off his clothes and laid them on the rock, placing the book over his clothes. He went to the shower and felt the warm water cascading down his back, causing him to groan in pleasure.

Naruto returned to his clothes, relaxed and happy, when he looked at a familiar person reading his book, sitting with one leg over the other on top of the rock where his clothes were – fortunately, they were still neatly gathered, just on the ground instead. He blushed profusely and tried to cover himself.

"Hello, Naruto," the woman said smoothly. She made sure to position the book in such a way that she would only see his torso and face. _It seems that whatever training Naruto's done is starting to pay off, _she observed. Naruto was starting to gain muscle in all the right places.

"Kurenai?" Naruto said after taking a few seconds to compose himself. "What are you doing here?"

Kurenai smiled. "I wanted to take a shower, but it looks like you beat me to it. Remember the first time we met?" Naruto nodded. "Looks like we've swapped perspectives, haven't we?"

Naruto nodded, still blushing brightly. "Um, Ms. Kurenai? Can I please put on my clothes?"

"Of course, Naruto," Kurenai replied. She stood up, still reading through the book that must have belonged to Naruto. _Genjutsu, eh, Naruto? Not a bad choice, not a bad choice at all._


	6. Foundation

Chapter 6: Foundation

After Naruto finished pulling on his grey shirt and matching pants, he placed his sweater over his shoulder and made it stick there using chakra. After that, he got the attention of Kurenai, who was still reading through his book.

"So, where did you get a book like this, Naruto?" Kurenai asked after she sat down on the nearby rock.

Naruto grinned widely. "From my friend Shikamaru. He gave me other books to help me with my training, as well as _Hidden Leaf Village: A History_."

Kurenai returned Naruto's smile with one of her own. "Really? Why would he give you a history book?"

"Shikamaru said that there was information about an Uzumaki clan," Naruto answered. His expression dimmed. "They were known as one of the world's most powerful clans because of their skill in sealing and the amount of abilities they had, but because of that, they were wiped out by their enemies, who were afraid of them. As far as I know, I'm the only Uzumaki left in this village."

"It seems that you have an impressive clan lineage behind you," Kurenai commented.

Naruto beamed. "I even discovered that I had an Uzumaki ability. I'm a sensor!"

"That must have been quite the discovery," Kurenai said with a warm smile. "So how far have you progressed with the ability so far?"

"I can only sense chakra signatures from a short range, but I know that once I practice, my range will increase a whole lot."

Kurenai chuckled. "That sounds good. So, how was your training last week? You know, with Kakashi?"

"We were busy doing missions throughout the week, so we didn't have a chance to train. I did train by myself though, using the books I got from Shikamaru."

"What sort of training have you done?" Kurenai asked.

"I did chakra control mostly, as well as physical exercise. I would cling to surfaces, like walls or ceilings. I can stay on them, but I can't stay on the surface and fight at the same time, otherwise I'll slip and fall off, since I use too little chakra..." Naruto answered, before trailing off. Soon after, he took a nearby leaf and placed it on his forehead, concentrating solely on the leaf.

Kurenai was initially confused when Naruto trailed off and started moving around, but once she saw what Naruto was going to do with the leaf he grabbed, she watched on in amusement, her red eyes shining with anticipation.

_Stick the leaf to your head with your chakra._ Naruto felt the leaf stick and moved on to the next phase of his newly-formed plan. _Apply the same amount of chakra right underneath the leaf in order to grab it._ He concentrated on his chakra and willed it to follow his directions. His lips twitched when he felt his chakra stabilize. _Now, slowly move the gathered chakra from the top of the leaf to the bottom, so that it goes from my forehead to my nose._

Instead of waiting for the leaf to move, he would have to make it move, like how he would apply chakra to his feet to walk on walls. Concentrating intensely, the leaf began to descend from his forehead, down the bridge of his eyebrows and onto the tip of his nose.

"I did it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"And what, exactly, did you do?" Kurenai asked, interested in Naruto's peculiar variation on the leaf attachment exercise.

Naruto smiled. "I needed to improve my chakra control, so after I mastered the leaf attachment exercise, I made a more difficult exercise involving leaf attachment. It wasn't easy, but I practiced and practiced, until I completed it just now."

"Well, if you add more leaves, it will make the exercise more complex, which will improve your chakra control even more. It's a good exercise and you've completed it, so congratulations," Kurenai said warmly.

"Thanks, but I'll need to practice more if I want to be a master of Genjutsu." Naruto said confidently.

Kurenai looked at Naruto as if he had two heads, but quickly composed herself. "Is that why you were reading that book on Genjutsu? It's not exactly a common path for a ninja to take."

"Iruka-sensei told me that I could be the best Ninjutsu specialist among my former classmates, because I learn high level techniques quickly and I have large chakra reserves, but Shikamaru told me that I was better at specializing in Genjutsu instead, because of my creativity.

"It's also something that nobody acknowledges, so if I became a Genjutsu master, people would have to acknowledge that it's awesome!" Naruto declared passionately.

Kurenai smiled proudly at Naruto, for wanting to learn and master Genjutsu, which caused Naruto's heart to swell with an unfamiliar feeling. That feeling disappeared when Kurenai's smile disappeared, replaced with a grim frown.

"How can I say this, Naruto?" Kurenai started, almost hesitant to say what she was thinking. "I don't think you'll ever get enough control over your chakra to become a proficient user of Genjutsu."

"Why?" he asked furiously. _She'd better give me a good reason, because I won't accept any half-assed answer, not anymore!_

Kurenai sighed before standing up. _While I have some experience with sealing, I doubt I could properly assess Naruto's seal. I still have a theory though._ "While I'm not 100% sure, I assume that the seal containing the Nine-Tailed Fox is designed to siphon off the Nine-Tails' chakra and add it to your chakra reserves. This causes your control over your chakra to fluctuate, so if you were to implant your chakra into someone else, you'd break any illusion you'd want to cast," Kurenai explained.

"So?" Naruto asked, after a tense period of silence fell between the two. He stared at Kurenai fiercely. "It's just a temporary setback, something I can overcome. I want to be a Genjutsu master and I'll put everything I have into becoming one. Believe it!"

_He's truly something else. _"If that's what you want, who am I to stop you? The village needs more people like you," Kurenai finally said. Her tone of voice held none of its previous mirth. "You told me that Kakashi hasn't trained you at all, other than in teamwork exercises. Has that changed?"

Naruto's fierce, penetrating gaze changed into a more solemn look. "He does do more physical training with us, but he doesn't teach us any ninjutsu. We don't spar either."

_No wonder he wanted me to teach him. _"Did you ask him for extra help?"

"Yeah, but he said that our teamwork would have to improve before he could help any of us out. Not until today, at least. When he found out I was a sensor, Sasuke asked Kakashi-sensei if he could learn something similar to what sensors like me do."

"Chakra detection?" Kurenai supplied. Naruto nodded.

"Kakashi-sensei said that he would train Sasuke and Sakura in that. When I asked, he said that he wasn't sure if it would help, but he said I could join in with my teammates." Naruto replied.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed slightly. "How did he expect your team to train without him teaching you?"

"He mentioned the library but when I went in there, I wasn't able to find anything useful." Naruto said sadly.

After a long period of silence and contemplation, Kurenai spoke up. "I still owe you a jutsu scroll, so tell you what; I'll help you out where I can."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Kurenai smiled softly. "Yes, Naruto. None of my Genin show any interest in Genjutsu, so I'd be more than willing to teach you what I know, since you're so interested in the skill I am a master of."

_That's even better than I could have imagined! _Naruto went over to Kurenai and hugged her tightly. "Thanks Kurenai! I won't let you down!" Realizing where his face was buried, Naruto stepped back slowly. His cheeks were glowing red.

Kurenai's gaze narrowed slightly, but she knew better than to accuse Naruto of perverseness, giving Naruto a smile instead of a glare. "Alright, Naruto. Tell me what else you know besides your chakra control exercises."

"I can do the Transformation Jutsu," Naruto began. He didn't tell Kurenai that he knew a specific version of the Transformation Jutsu – the Sexy Jutsu. "As well as the Replacement Jutsu. I can't do the Clone Jutsu, but I learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu instead."

"You can use Shadow Clones already?" Kurenai asked. Naruto placed his hands in his favourite seal, forming a single clone. The clone dispelled soon after. "And you learned it by yourself, right?" Naruto nodded. "I'm impressed. Anything else?" Naruto shook his head. "Don't worry about not knowing techniques for now, Naruto. You need to train your chakra control before learning Ninjutsu or Genjutsu."

Naruto nodded. A comfortable silence fell as the two were wrapped in their own thoughts for nearly a minutes before Naruto broke it. "When do we start, Kurenai...-sensei?"

"Unfortunately, I can't really train you until your chakra control comes up to an appropriate level. For now, I'll train you in overcoming the weaknesses a Genjutsu user commonly has.

"Using Genjutsu primarily requires you to keep a distance between you and your target. If you try to use Genjutsu next to your target, it will most probably fail. That's because your target could stop you from using Genjutsu in the first place, among other things."

Naruto nodded, filing the information away. Kurenai continued. "I want you to walk on the tree while you listen to me talk. It will increase your observation skills, as well as your level of chakra control." Naruto went to a nearby tree and began to walk on it. Kurenai sat on the rock and continued her lecture.

"The main advantage of Genjutsu is that your target will almost never realize that they are trapped in an illusion. If they do, it might be too late." Kurenai's voice was brimming with pride. "It is an art that requires subtlety and finesse, as well as a fair deal of intelligence. In fact, in a battle between Genjutsu masters, it is normally the smarter master who wins."

"Who is famous for using Genjutsu?" Naruto asked after he returned from the top of the tree.

"While there are several ninja who use Genjutsu in conjunction with Ninjutsu, Taijutsu or Kenjutsu, I am the only Jōnin who specializes in Genjutsu," Kurenai replied.

While Naruto was shocked to hear that Kurenai was one of the few Genjutsu masters in the village, he remembered something from his Genjutsu book. "Before they were wiped out, were there any masters among the Uchiha?"

Naruto missed Kurenai's brief look of annoyance. "Not really." Kurenai fell silent, contemplating telling Naruto this next piece of information as he started to walk back down towards her again, "I can only remember two. The first was Shisui Uchiha. The second was... is Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother."

Naruto's concentration faltered from his place halfway from the top of the tree. Itachi was revered as a genius, becoming an ANBU captain at the age of thirteen. He was someone that Naruto would never want to fight, not unless he had a sufficient amount of training.

Kurenai was about to catch Naruto should he fall, since he wasn't looking steady. She was relieved to see that Naruto continued walking up the tree without missing a beat. _He's on his way to becoming a master of chakra control, that's for sure._

"I am going to test you at random times during our training to see how fast your mind can adapt to situations and how promptly you react. The faster you react, the better you'll be able to adapt." Kurenai said.

"The worst opponent a Genjutsu specialist can face is another Genjutsu specialist. A specialist can detect and dispel illusions much better than ninja who don't, putting you at risk."

Naruto nodded and Kurenai stopped to let him absorb the information again. She watched him go up and down the tree again before continuing. "Now, the second most dangerous type of shinobi to a Genjutsu specialist is usually a Taijutsu expert, because they fight at close range. There are many different ways of stopping them from getting close to you.

"The easiest way to make you capable of escaping Taijutsu masters would be to increase your speed, to the point where you could escape just about anyone and still be able to counter."

"So... I would be like Sasuke?" he asked.

Kurenai shook her head. "Not exactly. Sasuke's Taijutsu relies on him being fast, but it also requires him to hit hard to take advantage of dodging his opponent's attacks. His Sharingan also helps him to predict his opponent's movements. I will train you so that you can dodge attacks and counter them with Genjutsu," she explained as he looked up at her with wide eyes. "While Sasuke will have more of a balance between speed and power, your fighting style will have an emphasis on speed. I'll also help you out with your Taijutsu, so you can at least have an alternative option."

"Really?" Naruto asked in slight amazement. Kurenai nodded. An errant thought came across Naruto's mind, "Um, Kurenai-sensei, how do you know how to train like this if you don't use it?"

Kurenai smiled, his observation skills seemed to be improving already. "Just because I don't use that method, doesn't mean I don't study it in case I meet another Genjutsu user who might make use of it."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "So how are you going to help me out, then?"

Kurenai shook her head as she noticed how low the sun was, they had spent more time talking than she thought. "It's getting a bit late for training, don't you think? We'll start tomorrow."

Naruto nodded and jumped down from the tree he had been training on, slightly winded but nothing he couldn't handle. He grabbed his book and looked at Kurenai as he motioned for her to lead the way. She raised an eyebrow at him in question. He waited a few moments before speaking, "Aren't we heading home?"

Kurenai smiled. "Sure, just let me take a shower first. I won't be long."

* * *

After Kurenai and her new student entered the village, Naruto began to think about Shikamaru's books and how much they had helped him. _I'm really grateful for what Shikamaru did for me. These books are quite helpful! _Naruto glanced at Kurenai. _Plus, I wouldn't have found a teacher who was dedicated to helping me, besides Iruka-sensei of course._

As they got close to the merchant district, Kurenai slowed down and looked around, before heading towards a shop with a teacup sign in front of it. Naruto watched Kurenai enter and he was about to follow, before he recognized the shop. _I remember this place. Bastard owner wouldn't let me in. _Naruto grinned deviously, a plan of action forming quickly.

After the smoke signalling a transformation disappeared, Naruto stood in his Sexy Jutsu, with 'her' clothes still on. They didn't adjust for her taller figure, causing them to cling tightly, exposing a lot of skin. Undeterred, Naruto stepped inside and sat in the chair opposite Kurenai, in a secluded corner of the café.

"Naruto?" Kurenai asked. "Is that you?"

Naruto nodded. "I didn't want to deal with any of the employees here as myself, so I transformed."

Kurenai sighed, placing her fingertips on her temples, massaging them. "You should have told me that you had a problem with this place, Naruto. I don't want you to feel burdened by me, alright?"

Naruto beamed. "Sure thing, Kurenai-sensei."

Soon after, a waiter appeared with Kurenai's tea. "Can I get anything for your friend, Kurenai?"

"I'd like... some tea as well, if you'd please," Naruto said sweetly.

The waiter nodded sharply. "Yes, of course." Naruto didn't fail to notice the waiter's light blush, causing her to smirk triumphantly.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Kurenai said teasingly.

"I'm just used to tricking guys in this transformation," Naruto countered. "Nothing more."

Kurenai chuckled softly. "Is that so? I think that you enjoy the attention, don't you, Naruto? A beautiful girl like you would have suitors chasing after you wherever you went, wouldn't they?"

Naruto flushed. _Kurenai called me beautiful... only she called this transformation beautiful, not me. _"Um... that's why I use this transformation. There are some people who are hopelessly perverted and they need a bit of a shock. I _do _enjoy the attention, but I know it's not real."

Kurenai, noticing Naruto's tension, gave her new student a comforting smile and sipped her tea, staying silent. Naruto closed his eyes and began to feel the world around him while he waited for his tea. He felt the table and the chair – in his sensor world, they were a light shade of gray. When he felt Kurenai's chakra, his sensor world went haywire; he could sense things from distances beyond his normal reach, but for what reason?

Kurenai's chakra was sky blue, vibrant. _That's something new._ Usually, when he would sense a chakra signature, it would 'ignore' him, much like any actual person he had met. With Kurenai, her chakra signature drew him in, encompassed him and overloaded his brain with positive feelings.

His breathing became laboured and his palms were sweating. He could swear that he could feel the Hokage's chakra signature nearby, but Kurenai broke him out of his train of thought, making him leave his sensor world.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Kurenai asked. Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He stared deeply into Kurenai's red eyes and felt his face heat up as Kurenai leaned towards him. "You look like you have a fever."

Kurenai's tea was finished, Naruto noticed. "I'm alright, Kurenai." Naruto said hastily. He was still in his girl transformation, judging by 'her' voice. "Just something unusual happened with my sensor ability."

Kurenai was interrupted by the waiter's untimely arrival. He gave Naruto his (or rather, her) tea and was given a hurried, but grateful thank you. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" she asked after the waiter left them.

Naruto sipped his tea, putting it down soon after and looking at the rippling liquid. "I was just trying to train my sensor ability while I was waiting for my tea. Normally, everything is just a shade of grey, even chakra signatures are normally a dull blue."

Naruto looked up, staring at Kurenai. "But, when I sensed your chakra, it was vibrant, a bright sky blue. Your chakra felt... different. Most of the time, it feels like any chakra signature I feel ignores my own chakra, but yours came closer, trying to, um... wrap around it, if you can call it that. It caused my sensor ability to go crazy."

"How strange," Kurenai finally said after an agonizing period of time."Maybe it reacts to emotion. But it's something you'll have to work on by yourself. I doubt it's dangerous, but please be careful whenever you use the ability, alright?"

Naruto nodded. After he finished his tea, Kurenai called the waiter and asked for the bill. Naruto took out money for the tea, but Kurenai raised a hand, pulling out money of her own.

"Let me pay for you, Naruto. My treat," Kurenai said calmly.

"Thanks, but please let me pay for you instead, Kurenai." Naruto said. "It's what a gentleman would do, after all."

Kurenai smirked. "But you're not a man now, are you Naruto?" Naruto pouted, which caused Kurenai's smirk to widen as she stifled a laugh. "I want to pay for you, because you're my friend and now, you're my student."

Naruto crossed 'her' arms under her breasts. "Ok. Thank you anyway, Kurenai."

Kurenai's smirk turned into a sweet smile. "My pleasure, Naruto."

After Kurenai paid the bill, she left with Naruto and walked towards her apartment. Once they reached it, Naruto dispelled his transformation. After he put on his sweater, he looked up at Kurenai and gave her a wide grin.

"Thank you for training me today, Kurenai. I'm grateful that you would want to help me," Naruto said.

Kurenai smiled as well. "You're welcome, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow at the training ground next to the waterfall, alright?"

Naruto nodded. "See you tomorrow!" Kurenai watched Naruto leave her apartment until she couldn't see him at all. _Naruto is definitely different, unique even. That's good. This master-apprentice thing may just work out after all. _


	7. Call of Duty

Chapter 7: Call of Duty

Naruto opened his eyes and stared at a specific spot on the bridge, drawing the attention of his teammates. Just when Sakura was about to open her mouth to speak, Kakashi appeared at the exact spot Naruto was staring at, much to the surprise of Sakura and Sasuke.

"You're late, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura snapped. Kakashi walked over to his team, ignoring Sakura's glare.

"Well, Sakura, I would have been on time but a black cat crossed my path and I could swear that it was able to speak. It freaked me out – since when were there cat summons?" Kakashi replied casually. Team Seven simply looked at him like he was crazy.

"Let's go and do our mission for the day first. After that, we'll see if we can get some actual training done." Kakashi said, beginning to walk away from the bridge, his ever-present novel in hand. Naruto jumped off the railing of the bridge and fell in with his teammates, following Kakashi to the Mission Assignment Desk.

Naruto ignored Kakashi's giggling; instead he began to think of what he had read about forming and creating Genjutsu from his book. He had some ideas about what sort of illusions he wanted to make and he was eager to start ever since he became Kurenai's apprentice the day before.

_Genjutsu is relatively easy to produce, once you have the necessary chakra control. With sufficient experience in Genjutsu usage, it is possible to control chakra flowing through the target's cerebral nervous system through a variety of means, ranging from eye contact or through striking your target with a weapon containing the illusion. However, the easiest way to cast illusions and invade your target's chakra network is through the use of hand seals._

_By using hand seals, the success or failure of the technique lies in forming the technique in the correct sequence. Much like Ninjutsu, should a single hand seal be out of sequence, the technique will not activate or it may activate only to be something completely different from what the user had intended. This is because the hand seals arrange the way chakra is moulded to create the technique. If the chakra is moulded incorrectly, then the technique will be different._

_Creating Genjutsu is a relatively short process, whether you use hand seals or not. The first step is to imagine the type of Genjutsu that you wish to utilize in your technique. After that, form the hand seals that you need to activate the technique (or mould the chakra and use a medium to transfer the chakra into your target's chakra network). There are twelve hand seals and, depending on their combination and the amount of hand seals used during the activation of the technique, will result in different effects. _

_The best way of discovering the sequence for a technique would be to find a master of Genjutsu and ask for their assistance with creating Genjutsu. If a master cannot be consulted, the next best method is trial and error. Find a willing test subject and test different combinations of hand seals (or, if not using hand seals, transfer chakra) in order to advance your skills in Genjutsu. _

Naruto smiled as he considered the possibilities behind Genjutsu. While hand seals would be necessary at the moment, his goal was to use Genjutsu without hand seals and apply it to Taijutsu. One idea he had was to counter a block from an opponent and send chakra into the opponent's chakra network, casting an illusion.

As they were coming up to the Mission Assignment Desk, Naruto's head snapped to the right as he detected an interesting chakra signature – it was sky blue like Kurenai's. While he waited for the source of the chakra to emerge, his team continued onwards. They stopped soon after they noticed that Naruto wasn't following them.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out to him."Get a move on, or we'll be forced to catch that cat again!" Naruto blinked as if he was leaving a trance-like state, causing Sakura to grin, pleased that Naruto didn't respond to her with that infuriating politeness that was completely fake. Her grin wavered when she noticed Naruto still didn't move.

Kakashi himself almost spoke up when he too turned to where Naruto was looking and noticed that Team Ten had just exited the building where the Mission Assignment Desk was located. Naruto, fresh out of his daze, made eye contact with Shikamaru and smiled. "Hey Shikamaru, how's it going?"

"I'm good, Naruto." Shikamaru replied lazily. The rest of his team followed him to where Team Seven's location. "Although, I have the strangest feeling that you knew that I was coming."

"I wasn't sure that it was you at first," Naruto said with a grin. "But now, I'll be able to know when you're in the area." Shikamaru simply chuckled. Naruto's turned to Shikamaru's teammates. "It's nice to see you again Ino, Chōji. You too, Mr. Asuma." Asuma smiled in response, giving Naruto a nod of acknowledgement.

Ino ignored Naruto's greeting, walking past him and heading straight to Sasuke. "Good morning Sasuke!" She shot Sakura a glare before continuing to speak. "It must have been so dreadful being on the same team as Billboard Brow and Naruto. I am so sorry I'm not on your team." Naruto tuned Ino out just when she started arguing with Sakura. _I have better things to do then waste my time with Ino._

Chōji stopped eating his bag of chips to speak to Naruto. "Hey Naruto." He looked at Naruto's clothing – his orange jacket was worn over his grey shirt, with his grey pants completing Naruto's appearance. "I like your new clothes."

Naruto smiled at Chōji. "Thanks for the compliment, Chōji." Chōji nodded in response.

"Naruto," Shikamaru said. "When you have the time, come over to my place today. It shouldn't be a pain to find out where I live. My dad's Clan Head, after all."

Naruto nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Well, we've spent enough time socializing, so let's go grab our mission." Kakashi ordered. Sakura and Ino finally stopped arguing with each other and realized that they were standing alone. With one last glare shared, Sakura and Ino rejoined their respective teams.

* * *

Team Seven were headed to the place where their mission would take place – a farm on the edge of the village. As they walked, Kakashi noted that Naruto was completely relaxed while he was speaking to Shikamaru. Instead of his usual detached politeness, Naruto responded with the bright attitude he was known for. He would have to get to the bottom of this issue.

Kakashi walked up to Naruto with his nose still buried in his book. "So, Naruto," he drawled – like Shikamaru, Naruto noted. After Naruto looked up, he continued. "When did you become friends with Shikamaru?"

Naruto simply looked away from Kakashi as he responded. "I would like to answer your question, but I can't, since you're reading your silly perverted book. How can I give a proper answer if you aren't totally focused on what I might say?"

_It's that attitude again. Not only that, he's trying to change subjects. _Kakashi suppressed a chuckle before continuing his speech."Oho! It seems that you're familiar with the goodness that is the Icha Icha series, I take it?"

Naruto scoffed. "I'm not. All I know that every woman hates that series and the only thing all women hate are perverts." Sakura and Sasuke looked on as their teammate initiated a battle of words with their sensei.

"That's actually not true, Naruto." Kakashi stated seriously. "Icha Icha is quite popular with women, not only men. Icha Icha is a story about an awesome ninja's comedic adventures about love, featuring a variety of kunoichi. It's also a great teaching tool for sex and everything that entails."

"Right." Naruto drew out, causing Kakashi to stare impassively at his charge.

_He lives in the Red-Light District, but he doesn't look like someone who's familiar with what sex is. I might have to give him the Talk quite soon._ "And if you're a pervert for admiring the fairer sex, then you'll eventually be a major pervert, Naruto. Unless you're not interested in women."

Naruto's cheeks turned red, causing Kakashi to smirk behind his mask. _I finally got an actual response from that boy. Thank goodness that he's not completely gone. _Kakashi then realized that Naruto never answered his question and resolved to find out later, since they were at the farm.

Kakashi walked up to the farm door and he knocked on it. Soon after, the farmer came out and smiled at Kakashi. "Looks like my farmhands are here today. Well, you can start out back picking the carrots. You can come to me when you're done." The farmer turned to go back into the farm but his eye caught sight of Naruto standing in the back and he turned right back around, facing Kakashi.

"On second thought, I need someone to shovel some manure from my old compost heap to the new one I want to make. Can I get that blonde haired kid to do that for me?" He pointed out the old compost heap and the new area on the other side of the farmland, but Kakashi and Naruto both saw the underlying gleam in his eye.

Kakashi turned around to face Naruto, leaning next to Naruto's ear in order to whisper. "Naruto, make a Shadow Clone once the farmer leaves and have it go on ahead while you stay here with us."

Naruto nodded. After the farmer went inside, Naruto created a clone and had it go to the compost heap. Kakashi looked at his team. "Well, now that that problem's been taken care of, let's start working on this mission."

* * *

The farmer was surprised to see Naruto among his teammates while they were picking up carrots and went up to him.

"Hey kid," the farmer started. "Didn't I tell you to go and shovel the manure into my new compost heap?"

"You did," Naruto replied coolly. "I'm actually shovelling the manure as we speak."

The farmer shook his head in exasperation, glaring at Naruto. "Don't play games with me, boy."

"I'm not lying to you." Naruto stopped pulling out a carrot and stood up, facing the farmer. "If you want proof, I can use a technique that lets me be in two or more places at once. Or, you can go to the compost heap and see me working hard at helping you out, understand me?"

Kakashi, who was observing his team, came up to Naruto. "That's enough, Naruto. We all know that you're working hard, so don't worry." He then turned to the farmer. "Naruto is a capable individual, so give him a chance, alright?"

The farmer grumbled and went back to the house. Kakashi took out his novel and began to read. "Well, Naruto? Get back to work!" Naruto went back to pulling out carrots, while Sakura stared warmly at Naruto.

"Don't worry about him, Naruto," Sakura said. "He just doesn't appreciate what you're doing for him."

Naruto turned to Sakura and smiled. "Thanks, Sakura." _It seems that this wave of good fortune is continuing. I like it._

* * *

Naruto and his teammates did all of the tasks the farmer asked them to do: pulling out carrots, herding livestock and even painting the fence surrounding the farm. After the mission was complete, Kakashi approached Naruto. "Come on Naruto, let's take a walk."

Naruto nodded and began to walk away from the farm alongside his sensei. "Can I help you with something, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Tell me when you became friends with Shikamaru." Kakashi said seriously.

"On that day my clone took my place on your team," Naruto replied. "I even got something good from Shikamaru."

"And? What was it?"

"Books. Chakra Control, a training manual, that sort of thing," Naruto said. "Since you weren't teaching us anything, I took the initiative and trained by myself."

Kakashi nodded. "I assume that you discovered your ability as a Sensor thanks to Shikamaru, right?"

Naruto gulped. "Um, yeah. It's common among members of the Uzumaki Clan. You know, Sensei, I'm curious about this one Uzumaki, Kushina was her name. Do you know anything about her?"

_Damn. He's getting really close to discovering his parentage. I'd like to tell him, but for some reason, Lord Hokage won't let me. _"I met her a few times, but as far as I know, she was the only Uzumaki in the village. Before you came along, of course," Kakashi replied after a few seconds of composing himself.

Naruto nodded and kept quiet, giving Kakashi the opportunity to continue. "While I'm glad you're fixing your own problems, feel free to come to me if you're facing any setbacks. I haven't been teaching you any techniques for a reason, but now, maybe I can."

Naruto smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, Sensei. Thanks!"

_Their teamwork is quite good, so I might as well start them on some survival training, tactics and heavier physical training. _Kakashi ruffled Naruto's hair. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Naruto alone.

* * *

Naruto stared at a specific spot on his training clearing and, just like he anticipated, Kurenai appeared exactly on that spot, with leaves surrounding her indicating the use of the Body Flicker.

"Hey there, Kurenai-sensei," Naruto said happily.

Kurenai looked puzzled. "How did you know I was – " She cut herself off, realizing what Naruto did. "It's that Sensor ability of yours, isn't it?" Naruto nodded. "Anyway, let's get started."

"Are we going to do Genjutsu training today, Sensei?"

Kurenai smirked. "We will, but only in due time, Naruto. First we're going to do some stretching."

"Stretching?" Naruto asked dubiously.

Kurenai nodded and placed herself in front of him. "Stretching is an important part of exercising, Naruto. By stretching your muscles it increases your body's blood circulation, which is important. It also increases your overall flexibility, which adds an element of unpredictability during battle."

Kurenai stated as she set her legs together and clasped her hands together, raising them to the sky. After she convinced Naruto to follow her lead for the duration of the exercise, she continued her lecture. "Stretching will also allow your muscles to become supple. You won't strain them either – that is, if you stretch."

As Kurenai finished speaking, she bent down at her waist and touched her toes with her palms. "For this pose, lean down and attempt to touch your toes while keeping your knees locked. Stop when you feel a slight burning in your lower leg muscles and hold it for as long as you can before standing up." Naruto nodded and bent down, his fingertips reaching to his ankles, since he wasn't able to reach his toes.

"Good," Kurenai said as Naruto held the pose. "You're already on the way to becoming as flexible as I am." After Naruto held the pose for thirty seconds, Kurenai made him stand up. "Make sure not to spend too long on any certain stretch, we don't want you to strain one set of muscles too much."

Kurenai then set her feet a fair width apart and leaned down to her right side. "This will stretch your right leg. Just like before, stretch until you start to feel a slight burn then stop and hold it for about thirty seconds before releasing it. After that, switch to the left leg and repeat the process."

After doing a few more leg stretches, Kurenai stood up and shook herself out to feel how her legs were stretched. "Next I will show you a few arm stretches, which are designed to lessen the strain your arms get when you use them repeatedly. First, grab both your hands and raise them above your head and place them in a platform position."

As Kurenai demonstrated the exercise, Naruto's eyes were drawn to her impressive bust, noticing how Kurenai's stretch emphasized her figure. Naruto, after seeing that Kurenai was finished with the exercise and was currently waiting for him, repeated the exercise hurriedly, hoping that she didn't notice what he was staring at.

Naruto did a few more stretches and noticed that all of these stretches would place emphasis on Kurenai's figure, which made it much harder for him to concentrate. _Why the hell do I keep seeing her naked breasts? I'm no pervert, so I shouldn't be thinking these things!_

"Alright then, we've done enough stretching for now. Let's begin with some conditioning," Kurenai said.

Naruto nodded and Kurenai led him to one side of the clearing, "Okay, Naruto." Kurenai pointed at the end of the clearning. "I want you to run from one side of the clearing to the other as fast as you can."

After Naruto did that, he would do different types of exercises, all designed to increase his leg strength, which would increase his speed. Most of these exercises were repetitive in nature and often left him exhausted; since he would do far more repetitions than what he would have thought was necessary.

All Naruto knew was that with this sort of training, he would be pushed to the limits of his virtually inexhaustible stamina – but all of his effort would pay off in the end.

* * *

After completing his training for the day, Naruto was prepared to escort Kurenai home, but Kurenai stopped him.

"Is there a problem with me walking you home?" Naruto asked.

"You're an unofficial student of mine, Naruto," Kurenai replied. "It would be suspicious if the two of us were seen together often, especially as you and I are not on the same team."

Naruto smiled. "It's not a problem, Kurenai-sensei. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

Kurenai winked at Naruto, giving him a warm smlie. "Until then, Naruto Uzumaki." Kurenai placed her hands in the ram seal and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Naruto alone in his training clearing.

_I'll go and visit Shikamaru. He should live in the clan district area, so I'll start there. _Naruto ran off towards an area he wouldn't ordinarily visit, but that bit of information didn't cross his mind. Eventually, Naruto found himself at the Nara Compound, which was easy to find after he asked for directions.

Naruto looked at the gates emblazoned with the Nara Clan symbol and opened them without delay. Eventually, after wandering around and looking at the deer that were grazing on the fields nearby, he found the Clan Head house, where he was told Shikamaru lived.

After Naruto knocked on the door, the door was opened by a woman with long black hair with two bangs framing her face. She was wearing a white apron over a red dress.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked politely.

Naruto bowed slightly, since that was what he assumed people did when they greeted each other. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Shikamaru invited me here. Can I come in?"

The woman stared at Naruto and after recognizing him, she smiled sweetly. "Yes, of course, come on in. Shikamaru's told us all about you." Naruto followed the woman – Shikamaru's mother, most probably – to the living room.

"Where's Shikamaru, Mrs. Nara?" Naruto asked.

"He's outside," Mrs. Nara replied. She then grimaced. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yoshino. You're free to stay for dinner, although I have to ask. Why didn't you come before? I thought I told Shika to tell you that you're welcome here."

"I was busy," Naruto said dismissively. "Even so, thank you for letting me come here."

Yoshino smiled. "It's my pleasure, Naruto. Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes." Yoshino went to the kitchen, prompting Naruto to go outside to find Shikamaru, who was playing a game of shōgi with an older version of Shikamaru, whose face had a couple of scars, as well as a small beard.

_That must be Shikamaru's dad. _Naruto observed their game for a bit from the doorway, before closing his eyes and entering his sensor world. Shikamaru's chakra was sky blue, just like Kurenai's. But when Naruto looked deeper, he noticed something... brown. Naruto was about to observe that brown colour some more, but he was yanked out of his sensor world before he could.

"Naruto, is that you?" Shikamaru asked, turning away from the shōgi board.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. "Yeah. I arrived here a few minutes earlier."

"Feel free to watch, Naruto," Shikamaru said lazily. "Since I want to play against you, you'll need to learn, right?" Naruto nodded and sat in between Shikamaru, who returned to looking at the board, and his dad.

"Shikamaru, why didn't you introduce me to your friend here?" Mr. Nara asked.

"Because you never asked," Shikamaru replied, not taking his eyes away from the board.

"I'm Shikaku Nara," Shikaku said amusedly. "You must be Naruto. I've heard a lot about you."

"It's nice to meet you," Naruto replied.

Shikaku made his next move. "Likewise." Naruto continued to watch the two Nara play shōgi and after a few minutes, Shikamaru groaned.

"Damn it, I lost. What a drag." Shikamaru grumbled. "Were you able to follow the game, Naruto?"

Naruto was about to respond, but he was interrupted by Yoshino. "Dinner's ready!" Dinner was a pleasant affair for Naruto, who had never eaten with a family before. Naruto basked in the companionable feeling brought on by this dinner. It was nice, he recalled, something he'd like to do again.

"So, Naruto," Shikamaru said, still digging into his mackerel. "How did you know where I was going to be this morning?"

"I sensed your chakra," Naruto replied. "I used a technique common among Uzumaki Clan members. I wouldn't have discovered it without your help, so thanks!"

Shikamaru smiled. "It's no problem, really."

"That's quite an interesting ability, Naruto," Shikaku commented. "A friend of mine is also capable of chakra sensing. Do you use any hand seals to activate the technique?"

"Not at the moment," Naruto said. "I just close my eyes and I enter what I like to call my 'sensor world', where I can detect chakra flow and chakra signatures around a certain area."

Shikaku chuckled. "So it's natural then. That's quite the ability. If I'm right, this ability of yours will have elements of both the Byakugan and the Sharingan, if it doesn't have those elements already."

After he finished his well-cooked meal, Naruto followed Shikamaru outside. The sun was setting, giving the clouds a deep pink hue, setting them against the backdrop of an orange sky.

"You know, Naruto, I like cloud watching as well," Shikamaru said wistfully. "It always makes me think, 'wouldn't life be easier if you lived like a cloud?' You just drift along without a care in the world..."

"That would be nice," Naruto agreed. "But we're here now and it would be boring if you didn't do much."

Shikamaru smiled. He then went to the shōgi board and began to organize it. "Alright, Naruto. I'll teach you how to play shōgi. After that, we'll play a couple of matches to get you used to the game, got it?"

Naruto nodded. "Let's get started!"

To Shikamaru's surprise – and amusement, Naruto quickly grasped the basic concepts of shōgi, such as the function of the different pieces or the general goal of the game. After playing a couple of matches, Shikamaru noted that Naruto's playstyle reflected his personality: unpredictable and chock-full of ingenuity.

Even so, Naruto's inexperience did him in on more than one occasion. "See, Naruto," Shikamaru lectured. "You need to have a basic plan before you begin your game. _Then_ you can improvise. You should have a general goal in mind and focus on achieving that. Put in as much effort as you can in completing your goal in the shortest amount of time."

Naruto looked at the board, a wicked grin forming on his face. "That's a great idea, Shikamaru. Next time I come here, maybe we can play real-life shōgi."

"How do you mean?" Shikamaru asked, slightly puzzled.

"I can use my Shadow Clones to act as shōgi pieces, which will make it more... interesting, don't you think?" Naruto explained, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

Shikamaru grinned. "That may just be the best plan I've heard from you yet, so long as you can pull it off. I'll have to tell Dad about this, so he can join in the fun as well."

"The more the merrier," Naruto said, beaming widely. "It is getting late. I should get home." Naruto went to the living room, where he heard Shikamaru's parents engage in a casual, yet lively discussion.

"I wanted to thank you both for letting me come here," Naruto said brightly. "It's been a lot of fun, you know."

Yoshino smiled warmly. "It's my pleasure to have you here, Naruto. You're free to come here whenever you like."

"I agree," Shikaku added. "You're an interesting kid, Naruto. It'd be great to have you here."

Naruto smiled. "Thank you, again."

"Shikamaru," Yoshino said abruptly. "Take our guest to the door."

"Do I have to?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, you must." Yoshino answered bluntly. "Don't make me force you, understand me?"

Shikamaru nodded, grumbling incoherently. "Follow me, Naruto." Shikamaru led Naruto to the gate of the clan compound. "It's been fun having you here, Naruto. Come again, alright?"

Naruto grinned. "Sure thing. Thanks for having me."

"What are friends for?" After Naruto left, Shikamaru returned to his house with his hands in his pockets, satisfied with his decision to become Naruto's friend.

* * *

While Naruto was waiting for Kakashi at his team's bridge, he began to think about the training he had gone through over the past two weeks. He had adapted to the workout and as a result, his overall speed had increased dramatically. Kurenai had also been helping him in different areas, from physical conditioning to Genjutsu training.

Kurenai was impressed with Naruto's ideas for creating illusions and helped him make them more effective, since the three techniques he created required an excessive amount of hand seals to activate, which was impractical in battle. Naruto had learned that the process for creating Genjutsu was relatively simple on paper, but difficult to actually execute. Without Kurenai's help, he would have struggled in making his own techniques – when using the hand seal method.

Naruto also learned how to dispel Genjutsu and was capable of breaking illusions soon after his chakra network was invaded, which impressed Kurenai. If he was incapable of dispelling Genjutsu by himself, he would have one of his Shadow Clones dispel the illusion for him, which Kurenai noted was a smart idea.

As for chakra control, Naruto had added up to three leaves to his personal chakra control exercise after some advice from Kakashi, much to Naruto's pleasure. He had mastered the ability to cling to any rigid surface using chakra and moved on to the next phase, walking on water, which was something he was able to master after a few days of work.

Even if he was able to create a Genjutsu, though, it wouldn't work. Naruto would send chakra to his target (either Kurenai or one of his clones) and the technique would appear to work, only for it to fail, due to external chakra overriding the illusion and dispelling it.

There was also the matter of Naruto having far less spiritual energy than he did physical energy. While it was increasing (and he had much more of it than when he started training two weeks before), after using Genjutsu of any kind, whether it would work or not, Naruto would feel more winded than usual. Kurenai explained that it was because Genjutsu fell under the broad category of Yin Release, which dealt with spiritual energy and required an abundance of it in order for it to work.

Even so, while Naruto was focusing on rectifying his fluctuating, yet improved, chakra control and increasing his spiritual energy, Team Seven's teamwork had improved even more than before. Their mission record was flawless and they never had anyone complain about them as they finished their job quickly, quietly, and efficiently.

Kakashi had begun teaching his team about Chakra Detection, which Naruto noted had made both Sasuke and Sakura rather happy, since they were learning something for the first time, something beyond the value of teamwork. Kakashi's lessons on Chakra Detection had been a great benefit for Naruto and resulted in him improving his sensor ability by quite a bit.

He was able to sense chakra signatures up to fifteen metres around him, if he concentrated. If he didn't, he could sense up to five metres around him, even when relaxed. His ability to spot different colours within chakra signatures had increased as well. With Kakashi, his chakra colour was sky blue, like Kurenai's chakra, but Naruto would see a dark red colour, mixed with black around Kakashi's left eye, as well as a white colour interspersed with purple within Kakashi's blue chakra.

He wasn't sure what it meant, but Kurenai was interested and had asked him to check her own chakra signature. He had been hesitant to do so because of what had happened the last time he actively searched for her chakra but complied and felt identical feelings to before. Eventually, he noticed a blue chakra, almost like water, located within Kurenai's normal chakra.

After he explained it to her, Kurenai told him to disregard it for the moment, since it would require more testing to see if what Naruto was sensing was something out of the ordinary. However, when he asked Kakashi, Kakashi told him that he might be capable of determining someone's primary chakra affinity – although he would have to test it out on as many different shinobi as possible to confirm that theory.

Naruto sensed Kakashi appear an hour after he arrived, which was about a half hour after Sasuke and Sakura came. Since Team Seven were used to Kakashi's antics by now, nobody shouted at him for his tardiness.

"Looks like you guys are ready for action, aren't you?" Kakashi said. "Let's go and get a C-Rank mission today." Kakashi smiled behind his mask when he saw his team liven up.

"Finally! No more of these damn boring chores!" Sakura exclaimed in relief.

"I agree." Naruto said excitedly. "We've already done so many D-Rank missions. We need to step up our game, don't you think?"

"It'll be a good test of our skills." Sasuke added.

Kakashi began to walk to the Mission Assignment Desk and took out his novel. He was surprised to see Naruto reading as well, but then Kakashi remembered that Naruto trained after practice and used his books to help him.

"Naruto reads?" Sakura asked in surprise. Sasuke simply shrugged while Naruto smiled into his book. Reading while walking at the same time required good observational skills to pull off successfully, which was what Naruto was currently doing. He was reading _Shinobi Rules and Maxims_ and decided to integrate some of the rules into his daily lifestyle, although he was determined to find his own path in life.

* * *

Gatō, shipping magnate and head of Gatō Company, was staring at his latest client; his black sunglasses allowing him to match his client's expressionless visage. His client had a notorious reputation in the Land of Water, as a leader of a rebel faction against the Village Hidden in the Mist's Mizukage. His client needed a large influx of cash in order to stage another rebellion and, naturally, came to him for... assistance.

"Now, for why you're here," Gatō said. "There is a man that is keeping me from completely conquering the Land of Waves. Tazuna is his name. Tazuna is building a bridge that will connect the Land of Waves to the Land of Fire, which will result in me losing business and money, which is something that can't happen."

Gatō placed his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands in front of his mouth. "I want you to assassinate Tazuna. Once that happens, I will personally fund your rebellion against the Hidden Mist Village. After all, once you're Mizukage, I'll be making even more money than before."

"And how much will I be paid for killing this man?" the client asked.

"50 million ryō," Gatō replied. "Is that enough for you?"

Mei Terumi smirked. "That will be more than enough, Mr. Gatō."

"Good. The only reason why I haven't hired Zabuza Momochi to do this is because he hasn't offered me anything extra, but you have. So don't give me a reason to drop you."

Mei chuckled melodiously. "I won't, so long as you give me no reason to betray you. If all goes well, I'll be looking forward to having you as a partner in the future."

The corner of Gatō's mouth turned upwards. "I look forward to it."

Mei bowed slightly, her low-cut blue dress showing a bit more cleavage than she would have liked, before turning on her heel and walking outside Gatō's office. Once she did, one of Gatō's bodyguards escorted her outside of the headquarters. The headquarters was heavily fortified and the path to Gatō's office twisted and turned, which would confuse any normal civilian, even inexperienced shinobi would have trouble navigating these hallways.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Mei found herself outside of Gatō's headquarters, still thinking about her mission. _While_ _I am averse to murdering a man that has such an honourable goal, I need the money to help restore the Hidden Mist to its former glory and this is my best option at the moment. This is just another step to liberating my country from the evil of Yagura's reign. And I will give everything I have for that to happen._

* * *

**Author's Note**: I've never seen a story that had the Wave Mission use anyone besides Zabuza where Zabuza was available for use (i.e. stories that had Hidden Mist not suffer from its Bloody Mist regime don't count). Hopefully I'm doing something original here, since Mei and her accomplices will be more than an adequate substitute.

To demian, since you haven't given me any contact details, I'll answer your question here: I tend to use less description than is required, since I'm not exactly a fan of filler in written text (my chapters tend to range from anywhere between 2000 and 4000 words, with certain chapters exceeding the 4000 word range. I've never had a chapter exceed 6000 words) and excessive description is a chore to read through.


	8. Crashing Waves

Chapter 8: Crashing Waves

Team Seven were outside of the village, escorting Tazuna the bridge-builder to his home in the Land of Waves. While Tazuna was irritated to be stuck with a bunch of 'snot-nosed brats', he was convinced by Kakashi to give them an opportunity to prove their worth.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura spoke from her place at Tazuna's left side.

"What is it, Sakura?" Kakashi asked from his position behind Tazuna.

"Should we expect any shinobi to attack us?"

"Nope." Kakashi answered, causing Sakura's shoulders to droop in disappointment. "If there was a possibility of fighting an enemy ninja, this mission would be a B-Rank, at the minimum. Since we're doing a C-Rank mission, the worst that could happen is fighting a few bandits. Even so, stay on guard, understand?"

Sakura nodded. "I will, Sensei." Kakashi returned to reading his novel as Team Seven continued their travel. After about an hour of travel, Kakashi placed his book in his pocket.

"Let's break for lunch," Kakashi ordered. After swapping positions with Naruto, who was leading the group, the Copy Ninja led them to an open field. Naruto formed four Shadow Clones and had them form a perimeter around the group.

Naruto took off his bag and began rummaging through it, pulling out a storage scroll. He was grateful that Kakashi taught him how to use these scrolls, because if he didn't, his bag would be filled to bursting with the stuff he brought. He unsealed a bowl of rice and some meat and began to eat.

"Hey, boss," one of Naruto's clones said. "Train your sensor some more! I can see further than I can sense, you know!"

"Yeah, I hear you," Naruto said flippantly. "I'll work on it whenever I can."

"Is that kid... having a conversation with himself?" Tazuna asked.

Sasuke looked at his teammate and shook his head, before returning to his tomato. "The less you know about Naruto, the better."

Naruto didn't respond to Sasuke's remark, instead staring coldly at his clone. "Do your job, understand me?"

Naruto's clone gulped. "Sure thing, boss."

After finishing their food, Team Seven reformed their formation around Tazuna and continued their walk. Naruto closed his eyes and began to sense the world around him. He felt his team's chakra signatures and while he could see Tazuna, he detected a miniscule amount of chakra coming from him. _That makes sense. _Naruto thought. _Tazuna's not a shinobi, but all life has chakra, doesn't it?_

Naruto opened his eyes again, appreciating the world outside his village. Away from the hatred of the villagers and all of the anguish that the village caused him, Naruto sighed in relief, a joyful smile forming on his face. His eyes darted from the trees that were placed on either side of the dusty road below his feet, to the bright blue, cloudless sky above him. He was sad that he would be leaving his friends behind, but it was one of his duties as a ninja to routinely leave the village and perform missions on behalf of his village.

Kakashi, who was observing his students from behind his book, smiled underneath his mask. _Naruto, I'm glad you haven't lost your curiosity. _Naruto, who was still busy observing the surrounding area, was able to remain focused on protecting his client by detecting any threats, while Sakura and Sasuke were poised to defend Tazuna from enemy attacks.

Eventually, Naruto felt a shiver crawling down his spine. _There were no clouds before, so why is it so misty all of a sudden? _Naruto closed his eyes and observed the light mist. The mist had traces of chakra within it, which caused Naruto's eyes to become sharp with focus when he opened them.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said bluntly. "Don't you think that there being mist now when there wasn't a cloud in the sky before is a bit odd?"

"You're right Naruto," Kakashi replied. "Mr. Tazuna, I hope you didn't forget what I told you when we accepted this mission. You are to follow my instructions to the letter. So if I tell you to drop to the floor, you'll do so without hesitation, understand?"

Tazuna nodded. "Don't worry Kakashi, I'll do what I must to ensure my survival." After a minute of nothing happening, Tazuna relaxed, but when his security detail stopped moving, his heart began to beat rapidly. "What now?"

"Just stay still Tazuna," Kakashi said. "You there, state your business." The person Kakashi was talking to was a bespectacled boy with light blue hair. He was wearing a blue pinstripe sweater and monochrome camouflage pants. The most peculiar thing about the boy was the giant weapon holstered on his back.

"Oh, um, nothing," the boy replied nervously. "I was just passing through."

"You had me all stressed out over a kid?" Tazuna asked angrily.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto hissed. "This boy is the one responsible for the mist." He then turned abruptly. "Sakura! Watch out!"

Sakura gasped as she was roughly shoved away by the boy who was supposed to be in front of them. Tazuna was frozen in fear as the boy's double lunged at him with kunai in hand, only to be pulled away by Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Naruto, who had three of his Shadow Clones attack the boy standing away from their group, before brandishing a kunai and charging at the boy in front of him.

Naruto grunted. "Damn! That kid beat all of my clones with a single swing of his sword!" Naruto had a Shadow Clone assist Sakura while he went up to fight the blue-haired prodigy. Sasuke grunted after having a boot planted in his stomach. He quickly recovered and flew through hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The last Uchiha shouted, blasting the boy with a stream of fire. After the smoke subsided, the boy stood unharmed, with his sword held in front of him. Most of the bandages that previously covered the sword were burnt off, revealing a large blue sword in the shape of a flounder.

_That's the Hiramekarei! _Kakashi, who was observing the battle from his perch in the tree, thought. He wanted to see who the boy would target, so he disappeared just after Tazuna was pulled away. "Sasuke, don't underestimate this boy. He's one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist."

Sasuke nodded after dodging a vertical slash from the boy, tumbling away. "Got it." While Sasuke continued to engage the boy, Naruto was struggling to lay a proper hit on the boy. Wave after wave of Shadow Clones would be quickly dispelled by the boy, whose previously bandaged sword was shimmering with blue chakra that took the shape of a much longer sword.

_Argh! When I get back, I'm learning how to do Taijutsu properly! _Naruto thought. Kurenai had repeatedly stressed that Genjutsu specialists needed to learn how to dodge and react to attacks. Since he didn't practise Taijutsu so much and was drilled into fighting like a Genjutsu specialist was supposed to, he was losing ground against this boy.

Fortunately for Naruto, Kurenai's training paid off when he avoided the young swordsman's strike. The boy lifted his sword, which took the shape of a hammer and returned it to its flounder shape. "Please yield," the boy said. "All I want is to take Tazuna with me."

"I can't." Naruto replied. "That would be going against the mission." Naruto avoided the boy's horizontal sword swing and clenched his teeth. _I need an opening! _Naruto thought. He had more Shadow Clones fight the boy while he began to weave through a long sequence of hand seals. While that was happening, Sasuke continued to struggle against the boy. It was a good thing that the boy was beginning to grow tired, otherwise Sasuke would have been in an inauspicious situation.

Sasuke looked at Sakura, who was standing in front of Tazuna with a kunai in her hand. "Sakura, get ready." After Sakura's firm nod, Sasuke shot another Fireball at the boy. The boy remained focused and blocked the Fireball. When the flames died down, the boy's sword began to glow bright blue, but before he could unleash his sword, he dropped to the ground, a kunai sticking out of his back.

Sakura stared in shock and looked at her soaked hands, raising one of them to her mouth when the boy dissolved into a puddle of water. _A clone? _Sakura thought. "Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke! Naruto's fighting the real version of that boy!"

Naruto clenched his teeth. _The kid's tiring out, that's good. I'm almost done... _Just before Naruto could perform the last hand seal of his Genjutsu, his last clone was dispelled. Unfortunately, there was no target for him to attack, since the boy who his clones were fighting against was draped over Kakashi's shoulder.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"Nice work Naruto," Kakashi said positively. "Your clones helped me make short work of this boy."

"That kid can't have been much older than us," Sasuke growled. "How is he so strong?"

"In this world of ours," Kakashi said seriously. "There are ninja that are younger than you, but stronger than me." He turned to Tazuna. "Speaking of which Tazuna, you never told us that you had ninja chasing after you, especially one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. Care to explain?"

"Our situation over at the Land of Waves is very dire," Tazuna began to explain. "We barely have any money, otherwise I would have asked for a higher ranked mission."

"You could have negotiated for a better deal, you know," Kakashi countered. "There are many things you could have offered in exchange for cash, but I digress. Since you've lied about fundamental mission details and endangered my Genin, I have every right to cancel this mission."

"Please don't!" Tazuna pleaded. "I'm being targeted by a famous shipping magnate named Gatō."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Go on."

"Sometime last year, Gatō came over to our country and took over all of our shipping companies. He uses his company as a front to deal in illegal enterprises like smuggling and extortion."

"So how did you get involved in this?" Sakura asked.

"I've been busy building a bridge that will lessen the control Gatō has over the Land of Waves. Obviously, he hasn't been happy with what I've been doing and hired assassins to kill me."

_That boy was probably allied with whoever Gatō hired to kill Tazuna. _Kakashi thought. _This can only mean that this mission will get harder as we continue it. Missions like these make me wish that I had an ANBU squad on hand, but oh well. _"What do you guys think?"

"We've already started this mission," Sasuke said. "Might as well finish it."

"I'll protect you with everything I have, Mr. Tazuna!" Sakura said resolutely.

"We're with you one hundred percent of the way," Naruto added.

"It looks like that's settled," Kakashi said brightly. "So let's move." After tying the swordsman to a nearby tree, Team Seven took the Diamond formation surrounding Tazuna and continued their trip to the Land of Waves.

* * *

After a long while, a blue-haired man approached the boy who was defeated by Team Seven. "Hey kid, wake up!" He growled.

The boy blinked awake. "Ao? Why are you here?"

"Look Chōjurō," Ao said gruffly. "Lady Terumi was worried about you and asked me to get you. How that woman became our leader is beyond me, but that's not the point. What did you find out?"

"Tazuna is being guarded by four Hidden Leaf shinobi," Chōjurō informed his partner. "One of them is the Copy Ninja, um... Kakashi Hatake! Yeah, that's his name. There was one that looked like an Uchiha and... There was another one, a blond-haired boy that looked kind of like that shinobi, the Yellow Flash."

Ao took out a kunai and tore off the rope binding Chōjurō. "That's quite an interesting group. It actually makes you look less pathetic if you could stand up to Kakashi Hatake." Ignoring Chōjurō's sheepish look, Ao continued speaking. "Go back to headquarters and inform Lady Terumi about this development. And don't dilly-dally, kid! If you acted like this back in my day, you'd be dead, or worse!"

Chōjurō grabbed the Hiramekarei and counted his lucky stars, fortunate that his prized weapon wasn't taken. "And what are you going to do?"

Ao smirked. "Take down Hatake's group and finish the mission." After Chōjurō swallowed a soldier pill and ran off, Ao sensed the incapacitated body of the ANBU that he assumed was dispatched to take away his 'partner'. _I expected that ANBU to put up more of a fight. _Ao sighed. _Rookie._

* * *

The mist made Naruto paranoid, although every time he closed his eyes, the only sources of chakra he could see came from his team, Tazuna and the ferryman, a friend of Tazuna's who helped smuggle them into the Land of Waves. Naruto looked at the bridge from his position at the front of the boat and whistled. "That's one huge bridge," Naruto said a bit louder than he would have liked.

"Shh!" The ferryman hissed. "Don't you understand the point of staying undercover? Do you want Gatō to find and kill us?"

Naruto shrugged. "Of course I do sir. Is it a problem to show my appreciation for Tazuna's hard work?"

Tazuna smiled at Naruto. "Glad you appreciate what I've been trying to do, Naruto."

"The ferryman does have a point though," Sasuke said. "Keep quiet."

After a long boat ride, the group finally made it to the shore. Once Team Seven and Tazuna disembarked, the ferryman left, disappearing into the misty waters. Team Seven reassumed the Diamond formation, but stayed closer to Tazuna, due to the thicker expanse of mist.

Naruto's eyes darted left to right frantically and repeatedly, which irritated Sakura. "Naruto, stop that!" she whispered heatedly.

"I apologize for worrying you Sakura, but I'm not feeling so confident right now," Naruto replied in a hushed tone. Suddenly, Naruto felt chakra spike as the mist surrounding them thickened. "Sensei! The mist has thickened. We've got another enemy!"

Kakashi leaped forward and flashed through hand seals. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!" The giant wall that formed protected them from the horde of kunai that were thrown at them. "Who's there?"

"I'll give your group one chance. Surrender Tazuna to me and I won't hurt you. It'd be a waste to kill such promising young shinobi," the voice reverberated throughout the area.

"Kakashi-sensei, the voice is coming from over there." Naruto said, pointing at the lake.

Kakashi nodded. "Good work Naruto. Team, here's the plan. Naruto, you'll be our eyes. Protect Tazuna while you send your clones out to scout for our opponent's location. Meanwhile, Sasuke and I will go after our opponent. Sakura, help Naruto protect Tazuna."

Naruto formed multiple clones and had some of them head into the surrounding forest, while the others headed towards the lake. Naruto's intention was to weed out the source of the voice - if the man dispelled one of his clones, Naruto would track him there and have Kakashi follow him, repeating the process until the man was found. Kakashi threw a kunai in the direction of the lake and ignited the tag attached to it, which created a large flash of light. After the light cleared, the mist was dissipated enough to show a man clad in the Hidden Mist's Hunter-nin uniform, with blue hair shaped in a shark fin. He had an eyepatch covering his right eye and wore a talisman on each ear.

"I knew that you'd figure out my little trick, Kakashi Hatake," the man said snidely.

Kakashi smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a fan. But you're not, aren't you? You have quite the reputation back at the Hidden Leaf Village, Ao."

"I doubt it's as big as your reputation back in the Mist, Hatake," Ao countered. "And next time..." He turned around and stabbed Naruto's clone in the stomach. "Don't try and send a kid to do a man's job."

Naruto grimaced once the clone dispelled, clutching his stomach. _It's just phantom pain, get over it! _Naruto clenched his teeth and began to run through hand seals. _Focus! Use only your chakra. Cancel out the Nine-Tailed Fox and cast the illusion! _Once Naruto completed his hand seal combination, he thrust his hands outwards, aiming his illusion at Ao.

Ao, who was busy clashing with Kakashi, smirked as he felt Naruto's chakra invade him, dispelling the illusion almost immediately. "Sorry kid," he said patronizingly. "Genjutsu won't work on someone like me." He kicked away Kakashi with a side thrust and threw three senbon at the three Naruto-clones rushing towards him. He deftly countered Sasuke's kick, grabbing the Uchiha's outstretched leg and throwing him towards the water.

Before Sasuke could sink under the water, Naruto grabbed him and returned him to the shore. "Sasuke, I've got a plan."

"Are you the real one?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded. "So what's the plan?"

Naruto grinned and looked at Tazuna, who was being protected by his clone and Sakura, before he stared at Kakashi, who continued to clash with Ao. Kakashi noted that Ao was more dangerous at a distance than at close range, but that didn't mean that he was no slouch at hand-to-hand combat. Kakashi dodged a short-range kunai throw, blocked another kunai thrust and countered Ao's attempt to stab his jugular with a senbon by grabbing the Hunter-nin's wrist and sending a pulse of Lightning chakra throughout Ao's body.

Ao gritted his teeth. "Not bad, Hatake, but not good enough either." Kakashi glared when he saw Ao dissolve into a puddle. A clone of Naruto pinpointed Ao's location and Kakashi decided to spare no mercy against Ao, revealing his Sharingan.

"So I finally get to see it again," Ao muttered as Kakashi approached him. "I'll never forget the last time I fought a wielder of the Sharingan."

Sasuke growled when he heard about his clan's kekkei genkai. "When are we going to go through with your plan Naruto?"

"Patience Sasuke," Naruto replied. He formed and dispelled a Shadow Clone, notifying his few remaining clones about the plan. "Get ready, Sasuke."

As Naruto and Sasuke prepared their plan to defeat Ao, Kakashi continued to battle against the Hunter-nin. With his mature Sharingan, Kakashi could predict Ao's moves before he even knew them, but for some reason, his hypnotic suggestions weren't working as well as he expected they would. He avoided a reverse kunai thrust and dropped to his knees. Ao avoided the leg sweep and blocked the roundhouse kick to the side of the head, igniting a smoke bomb in order to distract Kakashi.

Kakashi smirked. _As if smoke will hinder me. _He avoided Ao's senbon jabs and exploited an opening in Ao's defense, landing a chakra-enhanced punch under Ao's chin. Ao rebounded and landed on the water, avoiding a fūma shuriken. The veins around his eyepatch continued to bulge out as he dodged another kunai. He was caught off-guard when a Fireball hit his left side.

Before he could retreat, Ao was hit struck by the back of Kakashi's fist. Kakashi gave Ao no chance to recover, flashing through hand seals. "Water Style: Water Vortex!" A giant spiral of water surrounded Kakashi, before funnelling out. The giant vortex of water bombarded Ao with all the strength Kakashi could muster.

Ao finally managed to stand up on the shore, but with his left arm burnt, he wasn't able to pull a kunai out in time. Just before he could be pinned to the nearby tree, he launched several senbon at Kakashi, which struck many of the Copy Ninja's chakra points. _I may not be able to use the Gentle Fist, but I can still see every single one of Kakashi's tenketsu. _

Kakashi brandished a kunai and after a long struggle, manage to add Lightning chakra to it. Before he could throw the kunai, he was enveloped by mist. Once the mist cleared, a beautiful woman with long auburn hair and a blue dress emerged with an unconscious Ao draped over her shoulder.

Naruto approached Kakashi and had a Shadow Clone support him while he observed the woman. _Her chakra is unbelievable! _The woman's chakra had multiple 'colours': fiery-orange, aquatic-blue and muddy-brown, as well as a thick white colour and a colour similar to lava.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

The woman smirked and ignored Naruto's question. _I could kill the both of them right now. Kakashi's weakened and the child is no threat. In fact... _Kakashi threw the Lightning-infused kunai at the woman. The woman spewed a mist from her mouth that caused the kunai to melt and began to flow through hand seals.

"Lava Release: Melting Apparition!" The woman released a large amount of lava from her mouth above Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi pulled the real Naruto and burrowed underground. _Damn it! _Kakashi thought. _I'm almost out of chakra and ready to collapse when this happens!_ _I need a team of ANBU to __beat this woman. _Kakashi surfaced a distance away from the woman and began pulling out each and every senbon in his body. After he did that, he ate a soldier pill and felt the relief.

"What are we going to do, Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"It looks like we've reached the end of our rope here Naruto," Kakashi replied. "Even with the soldier pill, I can't fight that woman for very long."

Just then, the woman approached them, but without Ao wrapped over her shoulder. "Running away? I expected more from you, Kakashi Hatake. I wanted to be diplomatic about this, you know. If you just let me have Tazuna, I would have spared your lives."

Kakashi clenched his teeth. _If I can make eye contact with her... I can knock her out with a Genjutsu. Maybe that will work out. _"Naruto," he whispered. "Create a distraction while I prepare the finishing blow." While Naruto had his Shadow Clones attack the woman, Kakashi began to formulate a plan. _I have enough chakra to use the Chidori and still make at least one Shadow Clone. I also have enough chakra to use the Lightning Blade, but I won't be able to make the Shadow Clone. _

"Kakashi-sensei, hurry up!" Naruto pleaded. The first wave of clones he sent were destroyed by searing lava, while the second wave of clones were melted into ashes by the woman's poisonous mist. _There should still be a few clones left over from when we fought Ao. _Naruto thought. _They had better come over here, and fast! _

Meanwhile, the woman was quickly growing frustrated with her opponents. _The boy might have some potential, but he'll die here today. It's a shame to waste such talent, but the mission comes first. _She destroyed the last batch of clones that Naruto sent and began to weave through a long set of hand seals. Before she could finish the combination, she was apprehended by Kakashi, who was immediately dispelled after she made eye contact with him.

The woman shook her head and blasted a large Fireball at Kakashi, who avoided the attack. Just before she could hit Naruto, she felt a stinging pain erupt from her shoulder. Turning around, she furiously dispelled Naruto's clone, before she regained her composure. _I still have the upper hand. __If I get angry, I'll lose any advantage that I have. _She faced Kakashi again and barely avoided being stabbed in the heart by the Copy Ninja. Kakashi's lightning-wreathed hand was stuck in her shoulder, which aggravated the wound she sustained just before.

The woman pushed Kakashi away and winced when she moved her shoulder. _This arm is useless now... __But that doesn't mean that I still can't beat these two. _The woman was about to form what would be a fatal attack, but she was surrounded by four masked shinobi. _Reinforcements, I see. This may be harder than I thought. _The woman clutched her shoulder and sealed her injury, before deciding to make her escape.

"I will return, Kakashi Hatake. If you do not hand Tazuna over to me when I do return, I will destroy his bridge that he spent so long to make. That will cripple this country's morale beyond any potential recovery. You have one week to decide whether the fate of one man is more important than the fate of a dream that can still be reached without him." Just before the woman could be apprehended by the team of ANBU, she formed a blinding mist and disappeared in a swirl of water, quickly racing away.

Kakashi pulled his headband over his Sharingan and staggered as he approached the ANBU. "Where did you come from?" Kakashi asked.

"The ANBU you requested to apprehend the swordsman known as Chōjurō was incapacitated. After coming to, he called for reinforcements and we were able to track you here," the ANBU wearing a bear mask reported. "Fortunately, we came in time to assist you."

"Well I'm glad you did," Kakashi said. "I'll need you to check on our team first, if you will. After that, you can help us protect Tazuna."

"Understood," the ANBU said. His team disappeared into the woods to find Tazuna.

"Where's Sasuke, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"He's with Sakura and Tazuna," Naruto replied. "Do you know who that woman was, Sensei?"

"That woman is Mei Terumi, an S-Rank kunoichi," Kakashi answered. He sighed and was grateful that Naruto had a clone assist him with walking, since he was exhausted.

"How are we going to beat someone like her then?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "We're going to spend an entire week training you Genin to survive an encounter with Mei. We'll need to plan around her abilities and the ANBU will be great reinforcements. But before we can do that, let's go back to our team first, alright?" As Naruto and Kakashi walked back to Tazuna, Kakashi stared at Naruto. "When we're in a safe location, you're going to tell me how you were able to walk on water, understand Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "I hear you loud and clear, Sensei."

* * *

**Author's** **Note**: I apologize for taking so long to post this chapter. It took me a while to find out how exactly I was going to go about the fights. As for the fights, I hope that Ao and Chōjurō's fights were believable.

Also, I've expanded the fight between Mei and Kakashi and Naruto. While Mei would have killed Kakashi, she still showed a weakness to Genjutsu and distractions, since unlike Ao, she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head.


	9. Calm before the Storm

**Author's Note**: I want to clear any misconceptions people have regarding Mei Terumi's 'power level'. While she is a Kage in canon, she is slightly weaker here. What makes her so dangerous is her dual bloodline limit. If she didn't have that, she'd be strong, but only an A-Rank kunoichi. She is also weak against distractions (while she has good reflexes and is decent at Taijutsu, her style of fighting requires very little movement). So a concentrated team effort will _eventuallly _beat her.

It's the only way I can have her be a credible threat without having her steamroll through Kakashi (who is A-Rank only because his stamina sucks) and co. Hope that clears up any problems.

* * *

Chapter 9: Calm before the Storm

When Naruto and Kakashi returned to the rest of their group, they were approached by Sakura, who broke away from Sasuke, Tazuna and the tean of ANBU.

"Are you two okay?" Sakura asked in concern.

"I'll be alright Sakura, don't worry about me." Kakashi replied casually.

Naruto smiled. "Same here."

"We're going to need a place to stay for the time being," Kakashi noted after they joined up with their group.

"Don't worry," Tazuna said. "You guys risked your lives for my sake, so the least I can do is to let you stay at my place. Although… I'm not sure if we have enough space for your masked friends."

'Bear' stared at Tazuna. "We'll find a place to stay, but we'll be on hand if you need us for protection."

"I appreciate your help," Tazuna said positively. He then turned to Kakashi. "Let me show you the way." Team Seven followed Tazuna into the nearby village while the team of ANBU stealthily trailed them. Once they reached Tazuna's home, Bear approached Kakashi.

"We'll return here in the morning so that you can give us further instructions, Kakashi." Bear said. Kakashi nodded and watched as Bear and the other ANBU disappeared with the Body Flicker.

The door was then opened by a woman with long black hair who was wearing a red shirt and an ankle-length blue skirt. "Father, I'm glad you came back safely. Are these the shinobi that protected you?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered tiredly. "I'm Kakashi and these are my teammates Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura."

"Tsunami," Tazuna said. "Please escort our guests inside." Tsunami nodded politely and showed Team Seven inside, guiding Kakashi to a bedroom. Kakashi fell onto the nearest bed, landing with a thud.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped.

"I'm fine Sakura," Kakashi said reassuringly. "It's just chakra exhaustion."

Sasuke watched as Tsunami quickly left the room before he returned to staring at Kakashi. "Kakashi, how do you have a Sharingan?"

"I lost an eye during a mission and my teammate, an Uchiha, gave his own eye to me," Kakashi replied neutrally. Before Sasuke could start, Kakashi stopped him. "I need to rest… you guys know what to do in times like this, right?"

* * *

Naruto left the room and was about to head to the roof, when he bumped into Tsunami.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto said as he caught Tsunami and the wet cloth that Tsunami threw into the air in surprise.

Tsunami grabbed Naruto's shoulder to steady herself. "It was my mistake, Naruto, don't blame yourself alright?" Naruto nodded. "I thought that you would be tired after travelling for so long."

"I'm not tired," Naruto said. He covered his mouth in order to stifle a yawn. "Besides, I have to watch the house to protect it from any of Gatō's thugs."

Tsunami smiled. "Once I make sure that this cloth is given to Kakashi, I'll get you a blanket. It gets cold at night, especially with the ocean being so close by."

"I can't," Naruto said in a low tone. "I can take care of myself. Sasuke and Sakura would need a blanket more than I would. But… thank you for considering me."

A few minutes later, Naruto found himself in the kitchen and took the opportunity to begin eating a cup of instant ramen. Before Tsunami could return, he pulled out his stores of rice and placed them in the cupboard.

_It's the least I could do. _Naruto thought. He then began to think about his fights with Chōjurō, Ao and Mei. _Sure I was pretty fast, but my Genjutsu was useless! I could barely land a hit on that blue-haired kid and I followed everything Kurenai said. If it weren't for my Shadow Clones, I'd be pretty useless! _

Naruto pulled on his orange sweater and continued to eat his ramen, thinking about how he was going to fix his Taijutsu problem. _I don't get why my Taijutsu is so weak though, but… _Naruto was shaken out of his reverie when Tsunami entered the kitchen.

"Naruto?" Tsunami asked in concern. "I thought you were going to watch our house."

"I am," Naruto replied. "Look outside and you'll understand."

Tsunami looked outside the window and saw a clone of Naruto, who waved at her. "I see what you mean." With a sigh, she added, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

Naruto smiled. "I won't. Thank you." When Tsunami left the kitchen with another wet cloth in her hand, Naruto felt his heart grow heavy. _Is this what having a mother feels like? _For whatever reason, Naruto had a vision of vivid red hair and violet eyes, but shook his head. _Since I'm an Uzumaki, my mother might have red hair… but what happened to her, or my father? Were they killed in action, did they abandon me? I want to know who my parents are…_

* * *

The next day, Naruto woke up, the sun's bright rays hitting his eyelids as they fluttered open. He was unusually tired last night, but that could be because he created hundreds of clones the day before. That, coupled with having to fight using his maximum speed – which strained his body to its limit – made its impact on Naruto's still-growing body.

After he changed into his grey shirt and orange pants, Naruto left his room and walked to the bathroom. Before he could enter, he was stopped by Kakashi, who was leaning on a crutch.

"Hey Naruto, how was guard duty last night?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing worth noting," Naruto answered coolly.

Kakashi nodded. "That's good. You wouldn't mind answering a few questions, wouldn't you?"

"No..." Naruto said slowly. "I wouldn't."

"Alright then. Where did you learn how to walk on water?" Kakashi asked.

"I got a Chakra Control book from Shikamaru. One of the exercises is to cling onto a surface using chakra, like a tree. The next step is to walk on water," Naruto explained.

Kakashi nodded. "I see. What's troubling me the most is that thing Ao mentioned. Before I used the Sharingan on him, he mentioned that Genjutsu wouldn't work on him. That and the long hand seal combination you tried to use on more than one occasion... Why would you want to use _Genjutsu_ of all the ninja arts, Naruto?"

"Shikamaru said that with my creative mind, Genjutsu would be the best choice for me," Naruto said.

_He'd probably be better at Ninjutsu. But..._ "It's not a bad idea Naruto, but you're using it the wrong way."

Naruto scowled. "That's not true! I learned that hand seals help you to mould the correct amount of chakra you need to cast illusions on your opponent, isn't that right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Kakashi agreed. "But in the time you try to cast a Genjutsu, your opponent would have either escaped or killed you. You use your Shadow Clones so well, which makes me confused as to why you haven't done the same in what's supposed to be your field of specialization."

"Then what do you think I should do, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked bitterly, insulted at how casually Kakashi was criticizing Kurenai's teaching methods.

"While I'm not busy helping Sasuke and Sakura train, I'll give you some pointers to shorten the amount of time you waste on casting Genjutsu. The ultimate goal of Genjutsu is to use no hand seals when casting them, right?"

"Easy for you to say," Naruto grumbled. "You have a Sharingan."

Kakashi sighed. "That's true, but it doesn't mean that I don't know any Genjutsu that doesn't involve the Sharingan. Since you want to be a Genjutsu specialist, you'll have to cut down on the hand seals, first off. You'll also need to have some sort of back-up in case your Genjutsu fails, like being good at Taijutsu – an area that you need to improve on."

"... Fine," Naruto finally said.

When Kakashi saw Sasuke and Sakura leave their room, he decided to cut their conversation short. "We'll discuss this later, understand?" Naruto nodded tersely, before following his sensei downstairs into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Tsunami said cheerfully from her seat at the dining room table. "As you can see," she continued, pointing at plates filled with food. "Breakfast is ready."

Kakashi and Naruto sat down and began to eat, enjoying the meal and revelling in the fact that they didn't have to cook their own food. They were soon joined by Sasuke and Sakura, who looked refreshed after a long night of sleep.

"There's a lot of rice, don't you think?" Kakashi observed.

"I found that I had a lot of extra rice, surprisingly," Tsunami explained. "So I added it into the breakfast I planned to make."

"Well, this is excellent," Kakashi stated. Naruto took his mouth away from his bowl to nod in agreement.

"I'm glad that you appreciate it," Tsunami said with a smile. After finishing her breakfast, she stood up and took her plate.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura started to say after Tsunami left the room. "Why did you take so long to come back?"

"We ran into the leader of those two shinobi that we fought, the person that Gatō hired. She was terrifyingly strong," Kakashi told Sakura. "If it wasn't for Naruto creating an excellent diversion and the timely arrival of the ANBU, we would have never made it back to you guys."

"There's another, stronger kunoichi that we have to fight?" Sakura asked. Kakashi nodded. "Then how can we win against someone who you said that you had no chance of winning against?"

"Fortunately, I managed to injure the kunoichi, so it'll take her some time to recover. In the meantime, I will train you three so that you can survive against Mei Terumi and her two subordinates."

Sasuke and Sakura perked up when they heard that Kakashi would give them what should be advanced training, but at the same time, with the strength of the opponents they fought being on such a high level, they could only hope that what their training would be something that could help them, really help them survive and return to the Hidden Leaf Village in one piece.

Kakashi expected for his team to have some apprehension. "Don't worry about Mei for the moment. Just finish your breakfast and we can start training when you're done." Sakura nodded slowly while Sasuke began to shovel down his remaining food so that he could start training as soon as he could.

Naruto finished his plate of food and took it to the kitchen. On the way there, he passed a young boy wearing a white blue-striped bucket hat and dark green overalls. The boy had a sullen look on his face and when he stared at Naruto, he quickly averted his gaze. _I'd never imagine that I'd get that sort of treatment outside of the village.  
_

"Hey there kid, how're you doing?" Naruto asked. The boy remained silent and walked to the dining room. Naruto shrugged after standing there for a few moments and entered the kitchen, where he cleaned the plate and placed it next to the sink. He returned to the kitchen, where he saw his team ready to depart. The boy was there as well, silently eating his cooling breakfast.

_What could have happened to that boy? I know that look. I've seen it before, so much that I've lost count. _Naruto thought. "Can we go now?" he asked.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Someone's eager for training. Let's go outside." Sparing the young boy one last glance, Naruto joined up with his team and left Tazuna's house. The boy watched them leave, glaring as they left.

_It doesn't matter what they do. They can't beat Gatō. They're idiots for wasting their time trying to fight for us. _The boy thought pessimistically. _They're just going to die._

* * *

Team Seven went to a small clearing a few metres away from Tazuna's house. Kakashi turned to face them and began to speak. "What I'll be teaching you today requires you to know about chakra." Kakashi, for a second, was surprised to see Naruto understand what he was saying, but he realized that since Naruto was already able to walk on water, which required decent chakra control, he would need to have a basic understanding of chakra.

"Chakra is made of two parts..." Kakashi continued. Naruto knew what chakra was all about, so he closed his eyes and tuned out Kakashi's lecture. His eyes shot open when he heard Sakura's voice.

"How do we learn to use the right amount of chakra to form a jutsu?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi eye-smiled, eagerly anticipating the reaction he would get from his students. "Tree climbing!"

"And how is _that _supposed to help us?" Sakura questioned Kakashi. Kakashi gathered chakra around the soles of his feet and the tip of his crutch, before heading to the nearest tree and walking on it until he reached the nearest branch. He crouched and looked at his team of Genin, who looked at Kakashi in amazement. At least Sakura and Sasuke did.

"The point of this exercise is to learn how to gather only the minimum amount of chakra needed to use the technique. Your feet are the place that's considered the hardest area of the body to channel chakra to, which is why this exercise is so important."

"Because if you can channel chakra to your feet, channelling chakra to your hands would be child's play in comparison," Sasuke reasoned.

"Exactly." Kakashi said. "Tree climbing also builds your stamina and chakra reserves. You will be required to use chakra while moving throughout your ninja career. Once you get used to this, you'll be prepared for the next step of your shinobi training." Kakashi threw two kunai, one for Sakura and Sasuke. "Use these to mark your progress. I recommend getting a running start before trying to climb the tree."

"There's only two kunai, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura noted. "What about Naruto?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Naruto, please demonstrate the tree climbing technique to your teammates." Naruto nodded and walked to the nearest tree, before casually walking up its trunk. Sakura watched Naruto perform the exercise in astonishment. Sasuke, despite seeing Naruto move on the water, scowled at his blond teammate's progress.

"That's enough, Naruto," Kakashi ordered. Naruto ran down the tree trunk and returned to level ground, prompting Kakashi to front flip off the tree branch, landing lightly on the grass. He noticed four masked shinobi approach the house. "Naruto, while I handle the ANBU, you'll watch over Sakura and Sasuke. Understand?"

Naruto nodded. "I hear you loud and clear, Sensei." After Kakashi made a hasty retreat, Naruto watched Sakura and Sasuke begin their attempts at the tree-climbing exercise. Sasuke ran to the tree and took three steps, marking his position before being blasted off the tree.

"Too much chakra," Naruto said lazily. "Once you feel that there's enough chakra, don't channel any more than that."

"This is easy!" Sakura exclaimed. She was seated on the highest branch of the tree she climbed. Naruto hid his surprise before she could notice. Sakura's chakra control was virtually perfect, if she was capable of climbing up to the top on her first try.

_She'd probably be an ace at Genjutsu, if she wanted to. _Naruto thought. "Good work Sakura. Make sure to master the technique completely before moving on." Before Sakura could ask, Naruto explained. "If you can run up and down the tree for one hour without losing your concentration and falling, you would have mastered the exercise."

_Might as well do it. Naruto and Sasuke are so far ahead, so I need to do everything I can to catch up. _Sakura thought. She gave Naruto a nod and began to run down the tree trunk. Sasuke was still trying to complete the exercise, but he was making little progress. Naruto sat in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes, which would allow him to monitor his teammates' progress while training his sensor ability.

While that was happening, Kakashi was escorting an ANBU with short blonde hair and a fox-shaped mask to his room.

"So you want me to heal all of your wounds and replenish your chakra?" 'Fox' asked.

"Exactly," Kakashi answered after laying on his futon. _I need to train as well. _"Once you're done with that, you can either join your teammates who are watching Tazuna while he builds his bridge, or help my Genin with their training."

"Understood," Fox said. She placed her hands over Kakashi's torso, which began to glow green.

"You're quite lucky Kakashi," Fox said after diagnosing Kakashi's injuries. "Other than a minor case of chakra exhaustion and scattered senbon wounds, you should be ready for battle after you've been fixed up."

"That's good," Kakashi said in a relieved tone.

"But you need to rest. So no moving around once I've finished the treatment." Fox ordered. After Kakashi's reluctant show of approval, Fox began to use the Mystical Palm jutsu to heal Kakashi, who was thinking about what he could do for personal training. Not to mention what he would do about Naruto, who was already ahead of his teammates.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Naruto and his teammates trained in their own ways. Sakura ran up and down one of the highest trees so that she could increase her stamina and chakra reserves, while Sasuke repeatedly tried to complete the technique. Naruto watched them go at it while pushing his sensor ability past its limit. He was already able to sense further than before, but it wasn't enough. He could see further than he could sense and if it wasn't for the fact that his sensor offered omnidirectional vision (among other perks), he wouldn't have bothered in training it.

Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone and had it catch Sakura before she could hit the ground. She was panting heavily and stumbled when Naruto's clone set her on the ground. Once she was steady, the clone dispelled. "Sakura, please go back to the house and rest. You're at your limit."

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow. "No! I can still train."

"Not without chakra, you can't. You've seen what chakra exhaustion can do to a shinobi. Do you want it to happen to you?" Naruto retorted. Sakura acquiesced and walked back to the house. Sasuke watched Sakura leave before he continued his exercise. He could walk halfway up one of the higher trees, but after ten minutes of almost no progress, Sasuke was about to give up and walk back to the house.

Naruto sensed Sakura walk back to the house. She paused for a bit, giving Sasuke one last look before she entered the house. After a few minutes of observing Sasuke try and fail to climb to the top of the tree, he felt Sasuke approach him.

"Can I help you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a long moment before he began. "How do you do this dumb exercise properly?"

Naruto sighed. "Here's how. Calm down and focus. Then, the exercise will be much easier. Understand?"

Sasuke shrugged before taking a deep breath. He returned to the tree he was trying to climb and found that he climbed much higher than before. Sasuke smiled before marking his progress and pushing off the tree, landing on the ground gracefully.

Naruto knew that whatever personal issues he had with Sakura or Sasuke would have to be put aside. The enemies they were about to face were strong, so not helping either of his teammates become stronger would be tantamount to suicide. Even so, Naruto figured that Sasuke would have found this exercise easy and when he didn't, he would quit.

Naruto assumed that everything came easy to Sasuke. The adoration, the accolades, the acknowledgement. He never realized that Sasuke was willing to work himself to the bone in order to complete an exercise, no matter how unimportant it seemed at first.

_I'm learning new things, things I never would have learned if I didn't meet Kurenai that day. _Naruto thought. _Sasuke, for example, isn't a spoiled brat that thinks he's entitled to everything and gets it without question. He's a hard worker, which is something I can appreciate. _

* * *

Naruto carried an exhausted Sasuke into the house and placed him on the couch. He walked to the dining room, where he saw Kakashi and Sakura, as well as Tazuna, Tsunami and the boy from earlier – presumably Tsunami's son. "Sasuke is on the couch. He overdid it."

Naruto sat down at the table and watched Sakura leave the room. Paying no mind to this, Naruto began to eat. After Sakura returned with Sasuke leaning onto her, she set him down on the nearest chair, smiling when she heard Sasuke's weak grunt of appreciation. Sakura sat down and dinner continued in earnest silence.

Naruto, while eating his food, watched the young boy, noticing his slumped posture and sullen demeanour. The boy stood up and looked at a picture on the wall in what appeared to be longing, before walking away from the dining room and heading up the stairs.

"Ms. Tsunami," Naruto said quietly. "Do you know why that boy was staring at that picture on the wall?"

"Inari, my son, was staring at a picture of his my... husband," Tsunami replied. "He was Inari's father in everything but blood."

"He wasn't always like this, you know," Tazuna started. "He was full of life, a happy kid. See, one day there were these bullies who took Inari's dog, Pochi. They ignored Inari when he begged them to give back his dog. That got them angry and threw Pochi into the water." Naruto clenched his fists from under the table.

"Inari didn't know how to swim, so he watched in fear as Pochi struggled to stay above the water, unable to do anything for Pochi," Tazuna continued. "The bullies teased him and mocked him, until one of them... pushed him into the water."

Tazuna saw Team Seven stare at him in varying degrees of shock, before continuing the story. "While Pochi managed to paddle back to shore, Inari wasn't so lucky. He watched the bullies chase Pochi away while he struggled to stay. Because of them, Inari almost drowned that day."

"That was when my husband found Inari," Tsunami cut in. "He immediately jumped into the water and saved Inari's life. My husband managed to bring those bullies to justice, before giving Inari valuable advice. That was the day they first met and soon after, they became very close."

"What was your husband's name?" Naruto asked.

"Kaiza. He was a fisherman that always believed in a bright future, and not just one for him, for all of us too. He was regarded as a hero after saving villagers from dying in a terrible flood, which made the villagers, and Inari, believe in him even more," Tsunami answered.

"But then... Gatō came here and... He found a way to kill Kaiza, and he did it in front of the entire village." Tazuna struggled to say. "That day... that day, was the day that heroes ceased to exist. It was the day that our village lost the courage and hope to go on."

Each member of Team Seven had their own reaction to Tazuna's story. "What a horrible story..." Sakura whispered. "But... I don't believe that you've lost the courage to stop dreaming, to stop believing. I mean, you're building that bridge! That has to count for something!"

"And just because... someone you love dies, it doesn't mean that you have to die as well. You're still alive; you still have a reason to live: To honour the memory of those that you lost," Kakashi added solemnly.

"Because even when someone dies, a part of them still lives on within you," Sasuke spoke out. "People like Kaiza inspire others to dream, to live. And if you forget the deceased and what they stood for, then that is when they die, when they cease to exist."

"And as long as you have a dream to fight for, then you have no choice but to put everything you have into it. Because a dream worth fighting for... is a dream worth dying for," Naruto finished.

Tsunami wiped her eyes and rid them of tears, before taking the plates and heading to the kitchen in order to clean them. Tazuna stood up and gave the members of Team Seven an appreciative smile before heading to his room.

"... Let's get some rest, Team. We'll need to train even harder than before so that we can complete this mission." Kakashi said after a few minutes of silence. After an affirmative nod from Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, the team stood up and went to their room, determined to help Tazuna's dream become a reality.

* * *

The next day, Kakashi took Naruto to an area further away from the clearing they used to train in tree climbing, while he had a Shadow Clone watch Sakura and Sasuke, with instructions to move on to water walking once they were ready.

"Alright Naruto," Kakashi said. He was standing in front of his student. "Before I start with solving any problems you have with Genjutsu, let's start with your other problem: Taijutsu. We'll begin with a spar so that I can see where you're lacking."

Naruto nodded and stood in a fighting stance. "Can you attack first, Sensei? So that I can show you how I fight." Kakashi shrugged and aimed a jab at Naruto's face, blocking Naruto's own punch with an outstretched hand.

_He's fast, but for some reason, his punches are weaker than I expected. _Kakashi dropped Naruto's fist and watched as Naruto ducked under his backfist and jumped over his reverse leg sweep. While Kakashi wasn't putting all of his effort into trying to attack Naruto, he noticed that Naruto's speed, flexibility and reflexes were far better than the last time they sparred.

The spar continued as Naruto repeatedly avoided Kakashi's strikes. He parried lunge punches with outside blocks, ducked under roundhouse kicks and flipped over Kakashi's leg sweeps. Naruto knew that his fighting style was a critical part of being able to beat his opponents using Genjutsu. By reacting to his opponent's attacks, Naruto could dodge or parry them and look for openings to set up his illusions.

However, there was a flaw to this reactionary Taijutsu style. One Kakashi began to exploit. After Naruto dodged Kakashi's thrust kick by jumping away, he was about to enter Kakashi's inner guard, only to be kicked harshly to the ground by Kakashi.

"I see two problems with your Taijutsu style," Kakashi said. "The first is that while you have incredible reflexes, your punches are weaker. You've focused so much on dodging attacks that you've failed to work on maximising the force behind your punches. Secondly, if you fight someone faster than you, you will be unable to avoid their attacks and you'll die, since you have no backup plans for a situation like that."

Naruto stood up and dusted himself off. "Then, what's the plan, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I want you to get the feel of actually attacking someone. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem for someone like you, but I wonder why you changed your style so radically?"

"I learned that fighting like this would be better to use Genjutsu with," Naruto supplied.

"But what happens when you fight someone who's immune to Genjutsu, or at least someone who's good at dispelling Genjutsu? What then?" Kakashi prodded. He took Naruto's silence as an answer and continued. "There's no problem in wanting to specialize in Genjutsu, but you need a contingency plan in case your Genjutsu fails."

"I get what you're saying, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.

"Then that's settled. Have a Shadow Clone tag along with me while you begin your training. I want you to do 250 punches for each hand and 100 snap kicks, 100 thrust kicks and 100 roundhouse kicks, for each leg," Kakashi instructed.

Naruto nodded and began to work on fixing his flaws in Taijutsu. Meanwhile, Kakashi took Naruto's clone away from the original and began to speak.

"Naruto, I want you to work on your hand seal speed. Whether you use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu, the speed you can make hand seals with can easily make the difference between life and death. But first things first, try and place a Genjutsu on me. You know how, right?"

Naruto's clone stared at Kakashi angrily. "Of course I do!" The clone went through a chain of hand seals, thrusting its hands forward and implanting chakra within Kakashi's chakra network, aiming to influence chakra flow within Kakashi's cerebral nervous system.

"I see your problem, Naruto," Kakashi said after the Genjutsu dispelled by itself. "Your illusion would have taken hold, but another source of chakra makes its way into my chakra network, which prematurely dispels the illusion." Kakashi pulled his headband upwards, revealing his Sharingan. "Try the illusion again."

Naruto's clone complied and used the same technique he used the last time. Kakashi used his Sharingan to monitor Naruto's chakra flow. Blue chakra sped towards him and entered his chakra network, instantly heading for his brain. Just before it could, a trickle of red chakra escaped from Naruto's hands and entered Kakashi's chakra network, which dispelled the illusion.

Kakashi covered his Sharingan once again. "Your problem is what's sealed within you Naruto. Find a way to redirect the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra and you'll be able to cast Genjutsu without any problems. Understand?" The clone nodded. "Good. Work on that and your hand seal speed, as well as your techniques. Remember, use fewer hand seals and use only the bare minimum amount of chakra required to cast the Genjutsu."

Naruto's clone tried to use the illusion once more. When it felt the Nine-Tails' chakra try to escape, he forcibly redirected it and as a result, Kakashi became trapped in an illusion. Kakashi placed his hands in the ram seal and dispelled the illusion, giving the clone a thumbs-up.

"Nice work, Naruto," Kakashi said kindly. "I always imagined that Sakura, who was regarded as a potential Genjutsu-type, or Sasuke, with the Sharingan, would be the ones to use Genjutsu. The fact that you're doing it... is a pleasant surprise."

Naruto's clone beamed. _I've finally fixed my Genjutsu problem! Now I'm one step closer to becoming a master of Genjutsu._

* * *

Two days passed since then and Naruto was escorting Tazuna to the bridge. Sasuke and Sakura had moved on to learning how to walk on water and were being supervised by one of the ANBU – Fox, while the other three ANBU – Bear, Snake and Cat – were training with Kakashi.

He was the only one who was 'free', since he had Shadow Clones working on hand seal speed and his techniques. He was still happy that he could use Genjutsu and it reflected in his mood. He was still on guard though, especially since he was supposed to guard Tazuna.

As they stepped onto the path that led to the bridge, Tazuna looked at Naruto. "Do you see now what Gatō has done?" Naruto could feel the desperation coming from the people. The buildings were damaged heavily and some of them were about to fall apart. There were people that were barely able to move, and children with sunken stomachs were sleeping in the shade of dark alleyways.

Naruto nodded grimly. "I see."

"That's why I have to build this bridge," Tazuna said. "There are times where I feel like I'll lose hope, but when I see just how much damage Gatō did every time I go to work, my resolve becomes reinforced. This bridge is what will save us from the tyranny of Gatō's stranglehold. It's a symbol of hope and courage. It is the gateway to the future, a future where our land can prosper.

"If I fail, hundreds of innocent people will die. That is why I'll never give up. To show that dreams never die and to show that as long as you have a single breath left in your body, you can still fight for what you believe in."

Naruto processed what Tazuna said and remained silent as he continued to walk with Tazuna to the bridge. _Even with overwhelming odds stacked against him, Tazuna still tries to build the bridge. He never gives up even when the going gets rough. That's why... that's why I'll fight for his dream. _

When Naruto and Tazuna arrived at the bridge, one of Tazuna's assistants approached him. "Mr. Tazuna, we received a letter from this unusual person. The person said that it was for your eyes only."

Tazuna ripped open the envelope and began to read it.

_Tazuna. _

_My subordinates and I will arrive at your bridge in three days. You may wonder, why have I announced our arrival in advance? It is because I still believe that we can resolve this situation in a diplomatic manner. If you do not comply with my demands, I will be forced to use more drastic methods to complete my mission. Please do not force me to do so._

_– Mei Terumi_

"Please give me the letter, Mr. Tazuna," Naruto ordered. After Tazuna complied, Naruto read through the letter and scowled. "Don't worry, Mr. Tazuna. Me, my team, the ANBU. We'll protect you." _I won't let you destroy Tazuna's dream, Mei Terumi. Not after everything he went through to build this bridge, I won't!_

* * *

Within Gatō's headquarters, Mei was thinking about her battle against Kakashi and Naruto. _I made a mistake in assuming that Kakashi would be easy pickings after a long battle. As a result... _Mei rubbed her bandaged shoulder. _I'll have to wait until I'm fully recovered to make another attempt at Tazuna's life._

Kakashi wasn't the only dangerous fighter that Mei faced. _That boy... he'll be tough to get rid of, but once I do, Kakashi will have a hard time finding ways to distract me. _In spite of herself, Mei chuckled. _The only reason I 'lost' was because I was distracted. That and Genjutsu hasn't exactly been one of my strengths._

Ao approached Mei, shaking his heavily bandaged left arm. "What's the plan now, Lady Terumi?"

"We have to recover first before we go after Tazuna," Mei replied calmly. "However, we need a contingency plan against those ANBU."

"Normally I'd just layer the area with the Hidden Mist technique and pick off the targets one by one, but it wouldn't work." When Mei raised a questioning eyebrow, Ao explained. "It's because of that boy, the blond one. He's an Uzumaki, I'm sure of it."

Mei stared at Ao before standing up from her seat on her bed. "And how can you tell?"

"Besides sealing, the Uzumaki Clan were also known for their advanced sensing. It explains how Hatake was able to find and attack me, if the kid found out and cultivated his ability as a Sensor."

"At the same time, he won't go down easily," Mei added. "For someone so young, he's very resilient, if nothing else."

Chōjurō entered Mei's room with a case of medical supplies and flinched when he saw Mei smiling sweetly at him. Ignoring the heat building up around his face, Chōjurō walked to Mei. "Can I... um, help you, Lady Terumi?"

"Chōjurō, be a man for once in your life!" Ao scolded. "You'll never get married to a respectable woman with an attitude like that. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when you end up old and alone."

"Ao," Mei said coldly, with a serene smile on her face. "Shut up... or I'll kill you."

Ao sighed deeply. _I don't know why she has these sudden mood swings..._ "We still need to plan against Hatake and his team of Genin."

"Maybe we can make a deal with them," Chōjurō suggested after placing the case on Mei's bed.

"Unfortunately, diplomacy won't work, Chōjurō." Mei interjected softly. _Although, I hope that the letter I sent works, for their sake._

"Not like that," Chōjurō guided Mei to sit on the bed and began to remove Mei's bandages. "We can, I don't know, trick them into believing that Tazuna's dead, maybe."

Ao snickered. "I could place Tazuna in a state of false death. Once we get the money from Gatō, we can 'revive' Tazuna and be on our merry way."

Mei shut her eyes as Chōjurō applied disinfectant to her wound, but managed to smile. "It's a good idea, but we still need to defeat Tazuna's guards. Since they won't be so willing to agree with our idea, we'll still have to fight them. Remember, there's no holding back with this. We'll have to put in everything we've got in order to beat them."

Chōjurō smiled as he wrapped Mei's shoulder with new bandages, showing sharp teeth. "I'll do my best."

Ao smirked. "Just leave it to us, Lady Terumi."

"Thank you for your help. Especially you, Chōjurō," Mei said sweetly, giving the blue-haired swordsman a warm smile. "If it wasn't for you, I might have lost the ability to use my arm."

Chōjurō's entire face turned a dark shade of red. "You're welcome, Lady Terumi."

"Come on, kid! Don't you see Lady Terumi needs her rest?" After Ao dragged Chōjurō away, Mei placed the medical case underneath her bed and began to think. _Sometimes I wish that we didn't have to resort to fighting, but I suppose there's no complaining about it now. This is the path I chose and I'll see it through to the very end. _


End file.
